NEW YORK, July 9. /TASS/. Before strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran was capable of developing nuclear weapons within one year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted.
"I’d think, within a year," he said in an interview with the Fox Business TV channel replying to a question on the matter, adding that Tehran was capable of producing several units of nuclear arms within this timeframe.
Additionally, according to Netanyahu, Tehran had a manufacturing capability of about "300 ballistic missiles a month."
Iran repeatedly stated that it had no intention of developing nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not record any signs indicating Iran’s preparations for acquiring nuclear weapons, the agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper.
In the early morning hours of June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, Iran retaliated. Nine days later, on the morning of June 22, US jets attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities, entering the conflict. The following evening, Tehran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid, the largest US military airbase in the region, located in Qatar. According to the US authorities, there were no casualties or significant damage.
On June 24, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. The Israeli authorities confirmed that they had accepted the US proposal and announced that they had completed all objectives in their operation against Iran. In turn, Tehran said that it had achieved a victory over Tel Aviv by forcing it to unilaterally halt its aggression. The truce took effect on June 24.