Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday vowed that Israel would never allow the Islamic Republic to acquire nuclear weapons.
Earlier in the week, the Islamic Republic President, Hassan Rouhani, had announced that injecting uranium hexafluoride gas into 1044 centrifuges in Fordo nuclear facility would start on Wednesday. Iran says the move is the next step towards dropping its "voluntary commitments" based on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers.
"Iran expands its aggression everywhere. It seeks to envelop Israel. It seeks to threaten Israel. It seeks to destroy Israel. We will fight back," Netanyahu asserted.
He also said, "Given Iran's efforts to expand its nuclear weapons program, expand its enrichment of uranium for making atomic bombs, I repeat here once again: We will never let Iran develop nuclear weapons. This is not only for our security and our future; it's for the future of the Middle East and the world."
Since inking the JCPOA in 2015, the centrifuges at Fordo (Fordow), near the city of Qom, south of Tehran, had been running without being fed.
Tehran argues that withdrawing from its nuclear commitments are based on Articles 36 and 37 of the JCPOA. The authorities in Tehran argue that since Europe has failed to help the Islamic Republic bypass the U.S. sanctions, Iran is entitled to drop some of its commitments under the JCPOA.
However, suspending all enrichment operations at Fordo nuclear plant is an essential provision in the 2015 nuclear deal that led to the removal of international sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.
Nevertheless, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO), Ali Akbar Salehi has insisted that the centrifuges at Fordo nuclear plant will enrich uranium up to five percent, under the supervision of the inspectors of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA.)
Iran is highly dissatisfied with the European signatories to the JCPOA, who have so far failed to alleviate the impact of the U.S. devastating sanctions on the country's fragile economy.
Responding to Iran's new move, Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday evening that Israel would never allow the Islamic Republic to expand its nuclear activities, and obtain nuclear weapons.
However, he stopped short of elaborating on what Israel might do to stop Iran from expanding its nuclear program.
In the meantime, many Israeli top officials have joined voices with Netanyahu to warn Iran, and threaten Tehran with yet unknown consequences.
Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi HaNegbi told The Jerusalem Post that Iran's decision marked a "very dangerous development" and called on Europe and the international community to take steps to pressure Iran to halt its resumed march toward the development of nuclear weapons.
Nonetheless, a series of analyses by Israeli military experts indicate the fact that Netanyahu's administration is aware that using Israel's F35 bombers to demolish Iran's nuclear facilities will lead to an all-out war with the Islamic Republic.
Tehran has repeatedly warned that even if the U.S. attacked Iran, the Islamic Republic would destroy Israel.
"The enemy knows that any new war (against Iran) might jeopardize the Zionist regime's (Israel) existence with an all-out war, and ultimately lead to an irreversible downfall," the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Hossein Salami asserted last summer.
