DUBAI, April 19. /TASS/. Iran may target the nuclear research center in Dimona in case of Israel’s attack, the Iranian state-run Press TV channel said, citing military experts.
According to the television channel, during Iran’s recent attack on Israel that followed Israel’s strikes on the Iranian consulate in Syria, Iranian missiles and drones managed to get through the Israeli multi-level air defense system and hit military targets in the Negev desert, just a stone’s throw from the Dimona Nuclear Research Center. Military experts polled by the channel believe that this center can be a target for Tehran in case of a threat from Israel.
Ahmad Haghtalab, the commander in charge of nuclear security at Iran’s elite military force known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said on April 18 that Tehran has identified the location of Israel's "nuclear centers" and will be ready to destroy them in case the Jewish state responds to the recent Iranian attack on Israeli military facilities.
On the evening of April 13, Iran launched dozens of drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel. Tehran said that military facilities in Israel were targeted.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it intercepted 99% of the nearly 350 projectiles launched at Israel. The United Kingdom, the United States, and France helped Israel repel the Iranian attack. Following the attack, Israel said it was looking at a retaliatory move. Tehran however pledged it doesn’t plan to continue attacking Israel and doesn’t want further escalation but is ready to use a more deadly weapon to retaliate Israel’s possible attack.
Iranian media reported on April 19 that three drones were shot down over the Isfahan province in the early hours on Friday. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the drones had done no damage. Israel however did not officially claim responsibility for the air raid. Meanwhile, an unnamed Israeli official told The Washington Post that the raid was meant to demonstrate Israel’s ability to hit targets in Iran.