TEHRAN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Iran's atomic chief said on Wednesday that his country's armed forces have established necessary deterrence after Israel threatened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami made the remarks during an interview on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran, while responding to Israeli threats of potential attacks on Iranian nuclear sites following Tehran's missile strike on targets in Israel Tuesday night, the Iranian Students' News Agency reported.
U.S. news portal Axios reported Wednesday that Israeli officials warned if Iran retaliates against a potential Israeli response to Tuesday's missile attack, "all options will be on the table, including strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities."
In a post on social media platform X early Wednesday, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, "Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years to change the face of the Middle East."
"We must act now to destroy Iran's nuclear program, its central energy facilities," he added.
Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles at targets in Israel on Tuesday evening. Tehran claims this action was in retaliation for Israel's assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and senior IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan, as well as Israel's escalating "malicious acts" against Lebanese and Palestinian people with U.S. support. ■
