Tel Aviv: Israel and the US are closely following Iran’s effort to rebuild some of its major nuclear sites that have been damaged heavily in the recent 12 days war.
In parallel, Iran issued a final warning to the United States and Israel through Saudi Arabia, warning that any further attack on Iran would trigger the “destruction of all US bases in the region” and “the annihilation of Israel’s nuclear and strategic facilities”.
According to a report in the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Iranian nuclear scientist Mahmoud-Reza Aghamiri, president of Beheshti University, discussed Iran’s nuclear programme and the deterrence it creates. He said that nuclear knowledge alone, without actually building a nuclear weapon, was enough to generate power – because knowledge brings power, and power provides deterrence.
Aghamiri said that Iran’s advances in nuclear technology, uranium enrichment, and personnel training were aimed at instilling fear in the enemy, and that they had already achieved this goal. He added that Iran had the capability to build a nuclear bomb but claimed that Iran had no intention to do so. The only way to train students in nuclear studies was to teach them how a nuclear bomb is made, he said.
“The Iranian nuclear scientists are continuing their work, and the enemy must understand that they could not threaten Iran. The Americans may have struck the entrance to the Fordo nuclear facility and caused some damage, but the facility itself could not have been significantly harmed,” he stated.
Following intelligence leaks that suggested Israel was considering more precision strikes against surviving Iranian missile and nuclear infrastructure, Tehran delivered this ultimatum through Riyadh, according to recent regional intelligence and diplomatic briefings shared with Gulf intermediaries.
According to reports, late Monday night, before the announcement was made public, Saudi sources forwarded Iran’s warning to Jerusalem and Washington.
As per Iranian state media, the Supreme National Security Council clearly linked the warning to the Israeli-American joint bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan in June 2025, characterising it as the “last deterrent message” before direct response.
Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, Iran’s senior military adviser, said that if fighting breaks out again, “all US assets within 2,000 kilometres will be legitimate targets.” He also asserted that Iran still has “strategic strike capacity” in spite of its destroyed air defence network.
Amid a tenuous regional peace and continuing shuttle diplomacy through Saudi Arabia and Oman, Tehran’s rhetoric has significantly increased with this warning. Although they have not acknowledged receiving the communication, US authorities have reportedly moved several CENTCOM assets throughout Bahrain, Qatar, and Iraq to higher alert level.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
