Iran has also insisted that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, although evidence collected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggests that by 2003 it had carried out activities relevant to the development of a bomb. The agency says Iran has yet to answer outstanding questions about its nuclear activity.

The IAEA also says Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons since the US abandoned a nuclear deal and reimposed crippling sanctions six years ago with Netanyahu’s backing.

On October 26, the Israeli military announced that it had carried out “precision strikes on military targets in Iran” in response to the October 1 attack, which resulted in nearly 200 ballistic missiles being fired at Israel.

The military said the targets included missile production facilities as well as surface-to-air missile networks and aerial capabilities aimed at restricting Israel’s freedom of operation in Iran.

Iran’s military said the strikes caused “limited and minor damage” to several radar systems and that four Iranian military officers and a civilian were killed. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the effect of the attacks should not be “amplified or minimized”.

Satellite images analyzed by the BBC showed damage to four structures in Parchin, about 30 km (18.5 miles) east of Tehran.

Experts from the Institute for Science and International Security said three of the structures are related to missile production and that the fourth, known as Taleghan 2, was previously involved in high explosive tests related to nuclear weapons development, external.

Axios’ report cited unnamed US and Israeli officials as saying that intelligence had detected recent activity at the Taleghan 2 facility, which was “part of an effort within the Iranian government to conduct research that could be used to develop nuclear weapons, but it could also be presented as civilian research’.

A former Israeli official said the strike destroyed “sophisticated equipment used to design the plastic explosives that surround the uranium in a nuclear device and are needed to detonate it,” according to the report.

Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament that “a nuclear Iran poses a massive threat to our existence, to the peace agreements we aim to achieve with many of our neighbors and to global peace.”

“We will be tested on our ability to thwart their nuclear ambitions,” he added.

He then referred to the attack on the “specific component” of Iran’s nuclear program before warning that “the program itself, its ability to act here, has not yet been thwarted.”

Before the Israeli attacks took place, US President Joe Biden publicly stated that he did not support attacks on Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities.

President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to take a tougher line on Iran when he takes office in January, meanwhile said he had advised Netanyahu to “strike nuclear first and worry about the rest later.” .

Last week, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian told IAEA chief Rafael Grossi that Iran was committed to resolving “doubts and ambiguities” about its nuclear activities.

Mr Grossi visited Tehran ahead of a meeting of the IAEA’s board of governors this week, at which the UK, France and Germany are expected to pass a resolution critical of Iran’s cooperation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that Tehran would “take new countermeasures and actions in our nuclear program” in response to any such resolution.

He also strongly denied media reports that Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani met with Trump ally Elon Musk to defuse US-Iranian tensions.

“We are still waiting for the new US administration to clarify its policies, and based on that we will adjust our own policies. Right now, it is neither the time nor the right time for such meetings,” he said.