On Tuesday, the Iranian armed forces initiated a fresh round of missile and drone strikes targeting what it termed Israeli regime positions in the occupied Palestinian territories. This marks the tenth wave of attacks since hostilities commenced.
According to Iranian state media, these strikes were launched from various regions across Iran and triggered air raid sirens in multiple locations within the occupied territories. Initial reports indicated significant damage in some areas, though Israeli authorities had not yet released an official statement at the time of reporting.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran reportedly utilized cruise missiles for the first time since the start of its military confrontation with Israel, targeting the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, central Israel. Local Iranian sources claimed the strike inflicted considerable damage on the research facility.
This escalation comes amidst heightened tensions between the two arch-foes, following weeks of tit-for-tat attacks in the region.
In a statement broadcast by Iran’s Press TV, Major General Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, declared that the attacks thus far have served as a “deterrent warning,” adding that a more forceful “punitive operation” would soon be executed. “The operations carried out so far have been a warning for deterrence – the punitive operation will be executed soon,” Mousavi stated.
Separately, Tehran also launched a strong criticism against the European Union, accusing the bloc of siding with Israel in the ongoing conflict. These remarks followed concerns expressed by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
Responding on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei accused Kallas of acting as an “apologist” for Israel. “How can you express concern over Iran’s peaceful programme that is under the most robust IAEA inspections and ignore the fact that the Israeli regime has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons?” Baghaei questioned.
Reiterating Iran’s longstanding position, Baghaei affirmed that Tehran has never pursued nuclear weapons and continues to abide by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), of which it is a signatory. In stark contrast, Israel is not an NPT signatory and is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, although it has never publicly confirmed this.
Baghaei further asserted, “Iran has never sought nuclear weapons – unlike the aggressor that is the only barrier to a Middle East free from nuclear weapons, a goal Iran has advocated since 1974.”
