Iran Complains to UN Nuclear Watchdog about Israeli Threats against Its Nuclear Sites

People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP)
People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP)
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Iran Complains to UN Nuclear Watchdog about Israeli Threats against Its Nuclear Sites

People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP)
People walk through the old main bazaar of Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP)

Iran has written to the UN nuclear watchdog to complain about Israeli threats to strike its atomic energy sites, its foreign ministry spokesman said at a weekly news conference on Monday.

Israel has vowed to attack Iran in retaliation for a volley of Iranian missiles on Oct. 1, stirring widespread speculation that Iranian nuclear sites could be among the targets.

"Threats to attack nuclear sites are against UN resolutions.... and are condemned ... We have sent a letter about it to ... the UN nuclear watchdog," ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told the televised news conference.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel would listen to key ally the United States regarding a response to Iran's missile attack but would decide its actions according to its own national interest.

His 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 sites.

Baghaei, responding to a question about the possibility of Iran changing its official nuclear doctrine, said "weapons of mass destruction have no place in our policy". Tehran would decide on how and when to respond to any Israeli attack.

Iran has repeatedly denied Western accusations that it has covertly sought to develop nuclear bombs in violation of its commitment to the global Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Iran fired scores of missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip - the second Iranian missile attack on Israel this year. Israel responded to the first missile volley in April with an airstrike on an air defense site in central Iran.



Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Kamala Harris Says She Is Not Concerned about Trump’s Talks with Netanyahu

Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)
Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the press after speaking at a church on October 27, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Getty Images/AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Sunday she was not concerned about talks between former President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and reiterated her positions on the conflict in the Middle East.

Democratic presidential candidate Harris faces Republican Trump in a tight race for the Nov. 5 US elections.

"No," Harris said when asked if talks between Trump and Netanyahu could undermine what the current US government is trying to achieve.

Trump and Netanyahu have spoken on a few occasions in recent weeks. They had close ties when Trump was president as the US moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which delighted Israelis and infuriated Palestinians.

"I do believe that it is critically important that we as the United States of America be an active participant in encouraging one, that this war ends, that we get the hostages out but also that there is a real commitment among nations to a two-state solution and the 'day after' (in Gaza)," Harris told reporters on Sunday.

President Joe Biden has supported Israel during its wars in Gaza and Lebanon after Palestinian group Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Harris and Trump have pledged to maintain US support for its ally.

In the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, about 1,200 were killed and nearly 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed around 43,000, according to Gaza's health ministry. It has displaced nearly everyone in Gaza, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Israel's separate campaign in Lebanon has killed over 2,500 and displaced over a million. Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, who have been engaged in cross-border fire with Israel for the past year.