Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Friday that Tehran would retaliate against any attacks on its infrastructure, and that Israel would not be spared from the response of what he called Iran's fighters.
His remarks, carried by Iranian state television, come at a moment when the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, which had paused hostilities since April, appears to be unravelling after a fresh round of clashes over the past week.
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Fresh Strikes Raise Questions Over Who Is Behind Them
A series of unclaimed air strikes hit areas across southern Iran on Thursday, even as the country prepared to bury its late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's government has not directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker warned the United Arab Emirates over allegedly supporting the US campaign against Iran.
Gulf Arab states, which have repeatedly come under Iranian attack since the war began on February 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Separately, Israeli intelligence reportedly shared information with Washington this week about a new plan by Iran to assassinate US President Donald Trump, according to US media reports. Trump briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday about American operations in the Gulf, with Netanyahu's office saying coordination between the two countries had been established across several sectors.
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Qatar Steps In To Ease Tensions
Amid the escalation, Qatari negotiators are in Iran holding talks with officials there aimed at de-escalating tensions and creating conditions for broader negotiations to resume, Reuters reported, adding that the talks are being coordinated with the United States.
Separately, Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom said the first six employees of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant have begun returning to the site, months after hundreds of staff were evacuated when the US and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.
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