Iran warns Israel, says will retaliate with 'crushing' response against any attack

Iran on Sunday, Dec. 19 sent out a warning to Israel, saying that it will respond to any Israeli attacks against its nuclear program by targeting all sites used to launch the attacks. Islamic Republic’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted Major General Gholamali Rashid, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander saying that any attempt by Tel Aviv to attack or compromise the nuclear and military sites in Tehran will be met with repercussions. Such an attack is “not possible without the green light and support of the US,” Rashid stressed. Iranian military “will respond by attacking all centres, bases, routes and spaces used [to launch the attacks] in accordance with tested operational plans,” Major General Gholamali Rashid told FARS.

Earlier, reports emerged that should diplomacy fail in salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during the negotiations in Vienna led by P5+1— Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany, and Britain, Israel will respond with airstrikes to sabotage the country’s fast-advancing nuclear program. The US has been participating indirectly in the talks in order to bring Iran to compliance with the pact. In 2018, the former US President Donald Trump’s administration had unilaterally scrapped the deal over Iran’s breach of the terms and for enriching uranium and has slapped sweeping sanctions on the Islamic regime. Last week, the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at a white house conference that the talks were “not going well in the sense that we do not yet have a pathway back” into the deal.

US steps up military cooperation with Israel

While there have been confirmed reports about the US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin stepping up military cooperation with his Israeli counterpart Defence Minister Benjamin Gantz against the Iranian threat Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, at a presser appeared hesitant to give out any information about the much speculated joint military attack against Iranian nuclear facilities if talks in Vienna faltered.

But Iran, it appears, has abandoned “any of the compromises.” It has, instead, under the hardline conservative rulership of cleric Ebrahim Raisi, adopted a harsher stance walking back on all concessions struck during previous P5+1 negotiations. US defense secretary “confirmed the US resolve to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” during the crucial meeting with his Israeli counterpart, the Defence Department (DOD) said in a statement earlier. I'm not going to get into specific training scenarios and I have no additional or more specific training events or exercises to speak to today," Kirby had said when asked about the attack.