Following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump asked for options for a strike on Iran’s main nuclear site last week but decided against doing so, an Iranian government spokesman on Tuesday said that any U.S. attack on Iran would face a ‘crushing’ response.
‘Any action against the Iranian nation would certainly face a crushing response,’ spokesman Ali Rabiei said, in remarks streamed on an official government website.
It was reported on Monday that Trump, with two months left in office, conferred with top advisers about the possibility of attacking the Natanz uranium enrichment plant – but was dissuaded by them from that option.
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One of the advisers named in the report, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is on Wednesday due to visit Israel, which has long hinted at possible military action against its arch-enemy Iran.
Reacting to the news, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said, ‘If I were the Iranians, I would not feel at ease”. He added that he was not aware of the Oval Office deliberations last Thursday.’
‘It is very important that the Iranians know that if, indeed, they suddenly dash toward high levels of enrichment, in the direction of nuclear weaponry, they are liable to encounter the military might of the United States – and also, perhaps, of other countries,” Steinitz told Israel’s Army Radio. ‘
Iran on the other hands has maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful needs. Rabiei accused Israel of “psychological warfare” against Iran. ‘I personally don’t foresee that it’s probable that they (the United States) would want to cause insecurity in the world and the region,’ Rabiei said.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK