Iran Says Attack on Nuclear Sites Improbable

People pass by an anti-Israel billboard depicting Iran's missile attack on Israel with a sentence reading in Persian “If you want war, we are the master of war”, at the Enqelab Square, in Tehran, Iran, 07 October 2024. (EPA)
People pass by an anti-Israel billboard depicting Iran's missile attack on Israel with a sentence reading in Persian “If you want war, we are the master of war”, at the Enqelab Square, in Tehran, Iran, 07 October 2024. (EPA)
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Iran Says Attack on Nuclear Sites Improbable

People pass by an anti-Israel billboard depicting Iran's missile attack on Israel with a sentence reading in Persian “If you want war, we are the master of war”, at the Enqelab Square, in Tehran, Iran, 07 October 2024. (EPA)
People pass by an anti-Israel billboard depicting Iran's missile attack on Israel with a sentence reading in Persian “If you want war, we are the master of war”, at the Enqelab Square, in Tehran, Iran, 07 October 2024. (EPA)

The probability of an attack on Iran's nuclear sites remains low but any potential damage would be "quickly compensated", state atomic energy agency spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Wednesday, according to semi-official Nournews.

After Iran's missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1, there has been speculation that Israel could strike Iran's nuclear facilities, as it has long threatened to do.

"We have always taken these threats seriously," Kamalvandi said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday that Israel would listen to the United States but would decide its actions according to its own national interest.

The statement was attached to a Washington Post article which said Netanyahu had told President Joe Biden's administration that Israel would strike Iranian military targets, not nuclear or oil targets.

Biden has said he would not support an attack on Iran's nuclear sites and oil markets have been on edge over the prospect of an Israeli strike against Iranian oil fields.

Kamalvandi told Nournews that any attack on Iran's nuclear sites remained improbable and that if this happened, the damage was likely to be minimal and quickly repaired by Iran.

"We have planned in a way that if they commit any stupidity, the damages would be minimal," Kamalvandi said.

The Iranian spokesperson added that the UN nuclear watchdog and the international community should condemn any threat or attack on nuclear sites.



Man Arrested in Israel over Alleged Iranian Plot against a Scientist

 People take shelter as sirens sound in central Israel in response to what the Israel's military says projectiles fired from Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel October 14, 2024. (Reuters)
People take shelter as sirens sound in central Israel in response to what the Israel's military says projectiles fired from Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel October 14, 2024. (Reuters)
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Man Arrested in Israel over Alleged Iranian Plot against a Scientist

 People take shelter as sirens sound in central Israel in response to what the Israel's military says projectiles fired from Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel October 14, 2024. (Reuters)
People take shelter as sirens sound in central Israel in response to what the Israel's military says projectiles fired from Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel October 14, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli authorities say they have arrested a man who was involved in an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate an Israeli scientist.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Shin Bet internal security agency said Iran paid 35-year-old Vladimir Verhovski $100,000 to kill an Israeli scientist. It did not provide evidence or name the target of the alleged plot.

Iran has accused Israel of being behind the targeted killing of scientists involved in its nuclear program.

The Shin Bet said Verhovski had acquired a gun, cartridge and bullets, and agreed to flee to Russia afterwards. It said he had also gathered information at the direction of Iran.

It’s one of several alleged plots the Shin Bet says it has foiled in recent months that involved Israelis accused of having been recruited by Iran.

Israel and Iran have waged a shadow war for years that burst to the surface after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza. Israel and Iran exchanged fire directly for the first time in April, and Israel has vowed to retaliate after an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier this month.

Iran supports armed groups across the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.