A hardliner newspaper in Iran has called for a “formidable blow” against Israel inside its territories, for Israeli operation in Iran and to restore Tehran’s credibility in the region.
In its Sunday issue, Resalat, a publication that belongs to Iran’s traditional conservatives with no direct link with military hardliners, has argued that repeated Israeli attacks in Iran have robbed the Islamic Republic of its image as a regional power.
The article presented at the top of the main page as a an “editorial note” and headlined “Strategic Patience Against Israel Is Meaningless”, has argued that the reason world powers negotiated with Iran was because they took it seriously as a regional power. With repeated attacks against targets inside Iran, Israel has aimed to raise doubts about the Islamic Republic’s power.
Resalat argues that previous Israeli attacks in Syria and elsewhere against Iranian officials and interests “were painful” but not as serious as attacks in “Tehran, Esfahan and Yazd.”
The paper is referring to what many are convinced are Israeli operations in Iran that started in July 2020 and inflicted heavy damage on key nuclear scientist installations and killed important figures, such as the top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020 in Tehran. These attacks were extremely complex operations, which showed that those behind it had infiltrated the country and possibly even the government and security agencies.
The attacks have indeed become painful for the clerical regime perhaps more for the political damage they have inflicted on the image of a ruling system that has failed economically and its only claim to power emanates from its extensive military and intelligence structures and their influence in other regional countries.
Resalat says that Israeli attacks have led to an atmosphere of insecurity in Iran and are aimed at portraying the government as weak in the region. It goes on to argue that with the power of its regional proxies and its ballistic missiles aimed at the heart of Israel, the Islamic Republic could project power in recent past, but now these levers seem to be inadequate, and a more powerful response is needed.
“The length and breadth of the Zionist enemy’s territory from Tel Aviv to Haifa and to its nuclear installations in Dimona are within the range of Iran’s precision missiles,” Resalat says. “Our allies from north and north-east to south-east dominate the occupied territories [Israel],” it goes on to say.
“There is no reason to doubt that Iran’s long arm should inflict a formidable and unexpected blow on the enemy to instill regret, and it is important to inflict simultaneous blows inside the occupied territories,” the hardliner paper says.
But the editorial note does not stop there. “Even inflicting blows against the interests of Israel’s allies, especially America and Britain is a proposal worth noting and one of the options on the table,” it says and adds, “One must punish the father so the child takes notice”.
Mehdi Motaharnia, told Didban Iran website on June 18 that threats coming particularly from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) in the region are no longer political in nature and can be characterized as military.
Speaking in the cryptic language of Iranian analysts, Motaharnia added that "these threats are coming through Israel's security tunnel." He added that Tel Aviv's moves are becoming increasingly elaborate and that they can change the situation in the region and push it toward a collision.
Motaharnia said indications show that a military confrontation is not only "possible" but "probable".
He argued that US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia is meant to tackle the Arab-Israeli problem and bring about meaningful strategic changes, including bringing Saudi Arabia closer to Israel. All this, he said will have serious repercussions for Iran.
In fact, Israel this week called for a regional alliance against Iran under the aegis of the United States.
It could also lead to Iran's further isolation and create an anti-Iranian alliance. Motaharnia said that a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting will be also held during Biden's visit to the region, and this is likely to lead to a regional order against Tehran.
Meanwhile, the former editor of hardline daily Kayhan, Mehdi Nasiri also said on the same day that the Islamic Republic is moving toward a war.
Nasiri wrote in an article: "Evidence including the suspension of nuclear negotiations in Vienna and the escalation of tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) might indicate that the Islamic Republic is interested in war and such a war is likely to start."
Nasiri added: "If such a war starts, it could lead to major humanitarian and economic catastrophe for Iranians who still have not recovered from the scars of the 8-year war with Iraq in the 1980s."
Nasiri warned Islamic Republic officials that this war is in contradiction with Iran's national interests and that they have no right to impose such a conflict on the people even if they believe it would be an anti-imperialist move. "They have no right to start a war based on ideological and religious justifications without first seeking the consent of the Iranian people."
In a blunt statement by someone living in Iran he said: "While clerics and others in the government are living an aristocratic life, they have no right to impose war and aggression on the people and bring about poverty and misery with the pretext of resistance."
Nasiri added that if leaders believe most Iranians support an aggressive and belligerent foreign policy, they should prove this by holding a referendum.
The warnings about the Islamic Republic's interest in a probable war come while according to a report published by reformist daily Sharq, there is no consensus among Iranian and US officials whether "an agreement is within reach," or all the chances for a deal have been lost.
The report said that the realities on the ground point to the fact that currently there is no chance for a deal, adding that during the past 10 days since the IAEA Board of Governors condemned Iran's lack of cooperation with the agency and Iran’s reaction to the IAEA resolution have been discouraging. The report stressed that chances for an agreement have been practically reduced to nil.
Sharq's report said, "The nuclear agreement (JCPOA) is dead, but the Raisi administration lacks the courage to bury it."