Israel will receive a “devastating and decisive response” if it attacks Iran, Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday, days after CNN reported U.S. intelligence suggesting Israel was making preparations to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
“They are trying to frighten us with war but are miscalculating as they are unaware of the powerful popular and military support the Islamic Republic can muster in war conditions,” Guards spokesperson Alimohammad Naini said, according to state media.
Tehran and Washington will hold a fifth round of nuclear talks on Friday in Rome amid strong disagreement over uranium enrichment in Iran, which the U.S. says is a possible pathway to developing nuclear bombs. Iran denies any such intent.
It was not clear whether Israeli leaders have made a final decision on military action and there was disagreement within the U.S. government about whether the Israelis would ultimately decide to attack, CNN added, citing intelligence officials.
A collapse of U.S.-Iran negotiations or a new nuclear deal that does not alleviate Israeli concerns about Iran developing nuclear weapons could motivate Israeli strikes against its regional arch-rival, diplomats say.
On Tuesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said U.S. demands that Tehran stop enriching uranium are “excessive and outrageous,” state media reported, voicing doubts over whether talks on a new nuclear deal will succeed.
Tehran maintains its nuclear energy programme is exclusively for civilian purposes.
Iran and Israel engaged in direct exchanges of fire last year, in April and October, raising the risk of regional conflict.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; editing by Mark Heinrich)