Iran would strike back at Israeli weapons manufacturing sites and nuclear installations if Israel attacks the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
Israel has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve an international dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.
Iran denies the charge and says it would retaliate if attacked.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces are fully prepared,” Vahidi told reporters during a visit to Syria, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. If attacked by Israel, Iran’s first targets would include various weapons manufacturing sites and “unconventional nuclear centers”, Vahidi said.
Also on Wednesday, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi, speaking in Damascus, hailed Syrian-Iranian defense ties as a “deterrent” against Israeli “threats,” Iranian media reported.
“Promotion of defense ties (between) Iran and Syria is a deterrent factor against the Zionist regime’s threats which target nations of the region,” Iran’s official ISNA news agency quoted Vahidi as saying after his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The meeting, which a statement from the Syrian presidency said also included Syria’s top military commanders, came three days after Syria hosted Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili.
“The enemy’s aim is to threaten the region’s security and plunder its reserves, but the two countries have always prevented accomplishment of (this) evil aim,” Vahidi said.
The minister also held meetings with representatives of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and with representatives of Palestinian groups living in exile in Damascus, the Syrian presidency’s statement noted.
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