IRAN’S security chief has brushed aside reports about Israel’s budget for a potential attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, warning the Zionist regime that it would also have to be prepared for the colossal cost of repair as Tehran’s response would be ‘shocking’.
The Times of Israel, citing a report published by Channel 12, reported last week that Israeli officials had approved a budget of five billion shekels ($1.5 billion) to purchase high-powered weapons and equipment in preparation for a possible attack against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Around $600 million will be added to the previous $900 million budget to acquire aircraft, intelligence-gathering drones, and weapons that can destroy heavily fortified underground sites, the report said.
The claims drew a stern warning from Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in tweets posted in Persian, Arabic, English and Hebrew on Sunday.
‘Instead of allocating 1.5 billion dollars budget for atrocities against Iran, the Zionist regime should focus on providing tens of thousands of billions of dollars funding to repair the damage that is going to be caused by Iran’s shocking response,’ he said.
Last month, Iran’s Army commander said the Israeli military’s claims that it was speeding up its alleged strike plans against Iran would only serve as a ‘death march’ for the regime’s rulers.
‘It looks like the heads of the Zionist regime have sensed the speed with which their lives are waning,’ commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, said on September 8th.
‘Maybe, they want to commit suicide for fear of death,’ he added.
Iran has warned against any adventurist act amid renewed Israeli threats of ‘nuclear terrorism’.
The comments came a day after chief of staff for Israeli military forces, Aviv Kohavi, alleged in an interview with the Walla news site that the regime had ‘greatly accelerated’ preparations for action against Iran’s nuclear energy programme.
Kohavi further claimed that the Tel Aviv regime had ‘greatly diminished Iran’s presence’ to the north of the occupied territories.
The claim comes as the Islamic Republic has been maintaining a robust military advisory role throughout the region, especially in Iraq and Syria.
On July 27, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned that any military action against the Islamic Republic would backfire on the perpetrators, and warning that all conspiracies against the country are doomed to fail.
‘Despite all of their plots and contrivances, the enemies of the Iranian nation have found out today that issuing military threats against us is useless,’ Major General Hossein Salami said.
Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defence sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.
However, ‘military warfare does no longer rank among the enemy’s choices’, he added.
• China has adopted a new law to strengthen border protection amid a prolonged standoff with India and security issues in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The Land Borders Law, which will take effect early next year, stipulates that China can close its borders if a war or other armed conflict nearby threatens border security.
The country will ‘take effective measures to resolutely protect territorial sovereignty and land border security.’ it says.
The law, however, does not necessarily change how border security is handled.
The Chinese military and military police are responsible for guarding the border against any ‘invasion, encroachment, infiltration, or provocation,’ it says.
The measure also comes as China ties to contain the Covid-19 virus outside of its borders.
This is the first time that the People’s Republic of China – founded 72 years ago – has a dedicated law specifying how it governs and guards its frontiers.
India has moved at least 50,000 additional forces to its border with China in what is viewed as a monumental shift towards an offensive military posture against the Asian power.
China has long been embroiled in a border standoff with India at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Troops from both countries have been locked in a face-off in the western Himalayas, where both sides have been trading accusations of violating the LAC.
Both Beijing and New Delhi have deployed troops to the region, amid the ongoing border standoff earlier this year.
China has reportedly been building dozens of large weather-proof structures along the LAC for its troops to stay in during the winter.
Regarding the country’s border with Afghanistan, maintaining regional stability and securing Afghanistan’s borders is also a major concern for China.
- China has called on the United States to strictly abide by the ‘One China’ principle when handling issues related to Chinese Taipei, stressing that Beijing will not compromise on its core interests.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily news briefing on Friday, after US President Joe Biden said Washington would come to Taipei’s aid if it were to come under attack from China, claiming it had a commitment to defend the self-ruled island.
Taipei ‘is an inalienable part of China’s territory,’ and the Taipei ‘issue is purely China’s internal affair, and no external interference is allowed,’ Wang said, adding that no one should underestimate the Chinese people’s determination to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Wang also urged the US ‘not to send the wrong signals’ to secessionist factions in the self-governed island, and to avoid ‘seriously harming Sino-US ties and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.’
The Chinese spokesman further demanded that the US adhere to the ‘One China’ policy as well as the diplomatic agreements struck between Washington and Beijing on Taipei, emphasising that China will offer no concessions when it comes to its core interests.
Earlier in the day, when asked by CNN at a public event if the United States would come to the defence of Chinese Taipei, Biden had said: ‘Yes, we have a commitment to do that.’
Subsequently, China’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, urged the international community to call on the US to stop dragging Taipei into a war.
The European Parliament, meanwhile, has ordered member countries to increase ties with Chinese Taipei and to start work on an investment deal with the island.
European countries are showing an interest in upgraded communications with Chinese Taipei in part due to a global shortage of semiconductors, which has caused Brussels to lobby for key Taiwanese chip makers to invest in the bloc.
China has sovereignty over Chinese Taipei, and under the ‘One China’ policy, almost all world countries recognise that sovereignty.
The US also recognises Chinese sovereignty over the island but has long courted Taipei in an attempt to unnerve Beijing.
The US, which backs Taipei’s secessionist president, also continues to sell weapons to the island in defiance of Beijing and in violation of its own official policy.
Relations between the US and China have grown tense in recent years, with the world’s two largest economies clashing over a range of issues, including trade, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, military activities in the South China Sea, and the origins of the new coronavirus.
