Iran says oil facilities unharmed in Israeli attacks
Iran's oil facilities were not harmed in the Israeli attacks, and fuel distribution continues, the country's national oil company announced.
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Saudi Arabia on Friday condemned the Israeli attacks on Iran, saying the strikes violate Iran’s sovereignty, compromise regional safety, and breach international law, according to a statement carried by state media.
A senior Israeli security official told Iran International that Tehran must sign a nuclear deal or face further attacks that could end its rule, adding that Iran could avoid the Israeli attacks if it was honest in US talks.
“Iran can either sign an agreement or face ongoing attacks that will endanger the stability of its regime,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“Iran deceived the United States during the negotiations and tried to buy time while continuing uranium enrichment,” the official added. “Had Iran entered the negotiations with sincere intentions, Israel would not have attacked.”
The comments appear to reflect a hardening of Israel’s stance toward Tehran after it had mostly focused its military blows on Iran's armed allies in the region but stopped short of signaling all-out war on the Islamic Republic.
“The strategy toward Iran will resemble the strategy used in Lebanon — the threat must not be allowed to materialize,” the source stated.
According to the official, the recent strikes have left Iran’s military apparatus in disarray. “The Iranians are currently in shock, their military leadership is virtually non-existent,” he claimed. “And more surprises are yet to come.”
Despite the intensity of the conflict, the source insisted that Israel’s actions are aimed at the Iranian establishment and not its people.
“Israel is not targeting the Iranian people but the Iranian regime,” he said. “The Iranian nation, with its proud history, deserves leadership that provides electricity and water — not one that spends the budget on global terrorism.”
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Israel’s overnight airstrikes as a blatant violation of international law and pointed finger at the United States as Israel's closest ally.
“The United States, as the main supporter of this regime, will be held accountable for the dangerous consequences of this reckless adventure,” Araghchi said Friday morning.
He added that Israel could not have launched the attack without US coordination or approval and that Iran has a legal right to retaliate under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has appointed Habibollah Sayyari as the interim chief of staff of Iran's armed forces and Ahmad Vahidi as the chief-commander of the Revolutionary Guards. The two will replace Bagheri and Salami who were killed in Israeli raids.
Ali Shamkhani, a top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been killed in the Israeli airstrikes, multiple informed sources confirmed to Iran International.
