DUBAI, October 21. /TASS/. Iran remains committed to its policy of renouncing the use of weapons of mass destruction, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei reaffirmed.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran’s policy is to firmly reject the use of weapons of mass destruction. This stance is based on a fatwa issued by the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]. Discussions in the Iranian and foreign press about altering Tehran’s nuclear doctrine do not affect this position, and Iran will continue to adhere to this policy as part of its defense doctrine," Baghaei stated during a briefing broadcast by IRIB TV. According to an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, the threat to strike Iran's nuclear facilities is unacceptable and contradicts international law.
On October 1, the Islamic republic launched a massive missile attack against the Jewish state in response to the killing of senior officials from the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Lebanon-based Shia movement Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Tehran said that 90% of the missiles hit their designated targets. Israel, in turn, said that Iran had fired some 180 missiles into the country, most of which were intercepted. The Israeli General Staff vowed to choose the right moment to surprise Iran with a counterattack.
On October 11, at a press conference in Laos, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that carrying out threats to attack Tehran's peaceful nuclear facilities in response to an Iranian missile strike on Israel would be a very serious provocation.