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The United States and Iran will hold another round of talks amid warnings from Iranian officials that it will hold the US responsible for any Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, Iran has continuously maintained that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only, a claim Western intelligence agencies say is bullshit. For civilian purposes, a country would need to enrich uranium to around 3–5% purity for nuclear power generation, and up to 20% for medical and research applications. However, Iran is enriching uranium at 60% purity, a level that has no credible civilian justification and leaves the country just a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% enrichment. Western intelligence agencies have suggested that it’s intentionally shortening its “breakout time” to a bomb, and there’s more concern due to Iran’s secret network of undisclosed or hardened enrichment sites, some deeply buried under mountains. Earlier this week, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the prospect of a potential deal with the US, stating, “We don’t think it will lead to any outcome.”
What’s going on now: In a formal letter addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Iran’s military would hold the US responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear facilities. He wrote, “Iran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime of Israel and will decisively respond to any threat or unlawful act by this regime. We also believe that if any attack is carried out against the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Israeli regime, the US government will be complicit and bear legal responsibility.”
He added that “the nature, content, and extent of our actions will correspond and be proportionate to preventive measures taken by these international bodies in accordance with their statutory duties and obligations.”
The warning comes amid reports from CNN and Axios citing new US intelligence that suggests Israel is preparing for a potential military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites. Israeli military sources told Axios that preparations have included extensive exercises and operational planning, and that any strike would likely not be a one-off operation, but a sustained military campaign.
