Iran Conducts Military Drills Near Natanz Nuclear Plant, State Media Reports
Iran Conducts Military Drills Near Natanz Nuclear Plant, State Media Reports
Iran’s military has launched drills near the Natanz nuclear enrichment site in the country’s center, state media said on Tuesday, as part of nationwide exercises.The drills, known as Eqtedar, or “might” in Farsi, included the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s ideological military force.
“The first phase of the joint Eqtedar exercises in the air defense zone of the Natanz nuclear facility has commenced under the orders of the air defense headquarters commander,” said the nation’s television network.
It further stated that IRGC air forces were conducting “an all-out point defense” of the location “against a multitude of air threats in tough electronic warfare conditions.”On Monday, IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini stated that the drills, which will also occur in other parts of Iran until mid-March, were carried out in response to “new security threats” without providing further details.He said several components of the IRGC, including the navy and paramilitary Basij forces, would also participate in the exercises.
Axios reported last week that White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan had presented President Joe Biden with options for a potential US strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran developed a nuclear weapon before January 20, when Donald Trump takes office.Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, slammed the claims, calling threats against the country’s nuclear installations “a gross violation of international law.”
Iran insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes and denies any intention of developing nuclear weapons.Iran has boosted its production of enriched uranium in recent years, and it is the only non-nuclear weapons state with uranium enriched to 60%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a nuclear watchdog.
That amount is well on its approach to meeting the 90% requirement for an atomic bomb.Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program rose when the United States pulled out of a historic nuclear deal that provided Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for limits on its atomic goals during Trump’s first term.
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