Iran’s highest-ranking military commander has asserted the military’s right to retaliate against US interests following recent strikes by Washington. While signaling a response, he indicated the primary target of retaliation may be Israel.
Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi stated that the US strikes mean Iranian forces “are fully authorized to take any action against the US military and its interests, and we will never retreat from these steps.”
He emphasized, “The criminal US must understand” that its “illegitimate and aggressive proxy, Israel, will be punished.”
Analysts in Iran suggest that initial retaliatory actions are more likely to target Israel rather than initiate a direct confrontation with the US.
Iranian Parliament Poised to Suspend IAEA Cooperation
Iran’s parliament is expected to approve a measure that would suspend the nation’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
“We are working to pass a plan that would halt Iran’s cooperation with the agency as long as we lack objective guarantees regarding its professional conduct,” stated Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Parliament.
He accused the IAEA of becoming a “political tool” for global powers.
Shortly before the initial Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this month, the IAEA board declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
However, the Iranian parliament has not threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and Ghalibaf reiterated that Iran does not seek to develop nuclear weapons.
