Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi<\/p>\n
Iran has said it will hold the US responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites in remarks that set a fraught backdrop for the fifth and probably most important round of talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, issued the warning on Thursday after reports appeared in the American media claiming US intelligence understood Israel was planning an attack on Iranian nuclear sites \u2013 with or without American support \u2013 if the talks broke down.<\/p>\n
The report may be accurate or an attempt by the US to strengthen its negotiating hand before the indirect talks in Rome, which are being mediated by Oman. Israel has repeatedly said it will attack Iran\u2019s nuclear sites, while Donald Trump<\/a> has said the US will do so if the talks break down.<\/p>\n In a letter to the UN, Araghchi said: \u201cIran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime of Israel and will decisively respond to any threat or unlawful act by this regime.\u201d<\/p>\n In a letter to the UN, Araghchi said: \u201cIran strongly warns against any adventurism by the Zionist regime of Israel and will decisively respond to any threat or unlawful act by this regime.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Iran would view Washington as a \u201cparticipant\u201d in any such attack, and Tehran would have to adopt \u201cspecial measures\u201d to protect its nuclear sites and material from any attacks or sabotage. Araghchi said the UN nuclear inspectorate, the IAEA, would only be subsequently informed of such steps.<\/p>\n An adviser to Iran\u2019s supreme leader said in April that Tehran could suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear inspectors or transfer enriched material to safe and undisclosed locations.<\/p>\n In a separate statement released on Thursday, Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said Israel would receive a \u201cdevastating and decisive response\u201d if it attacked Iran.<\/p>\n Alimohammad Naini , the guards\u2019 spokesperson, said: \u201cThey are trying to frighten us with war but are miscalculating as they are unaware of the powerful popular and military support the Islamic Republic can muster in war conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>, said on Tuesday that US demands for Tehran to stop refining uranium were \u201cexcessive and outrageous\u201d, his most unequivocal statement that Iran will not abandon the capacity to enrich. But he said he did not expect the talks with the US to succeed.<\/p>\n