Iran threatens Israel against attacking its territory, warns of grave economic crisis

Amidst escalating conflict in the middle east, Iran, on Sunday, said that its adversary Israel will suffer a colossal economic crisis if it attacks the Islamic Republic. According to a report by Sputnik News, the statement was made by the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani who warned Zionists against Iran’s "shocking response" in case of an attack on its territory -- both nuclear and non-nuclear. Both Tehran and Jerusalem have been engaged in a shadow war for decades with occasional spurts of violence. 

Just last week, the Knesset approved billions of shekels (US1.5 billion) in funds to prepare for a possible nuclear attack by Iran. Slamming the move in a tweet, Shamkhani said that instead of allocating money to attack, the Naftali Bennett administration should focus on using it to replenish damages that would be caused by Iranian retaliation. While both the parties have been trading barbs ever since negotiations on the 2015 JCPOA pact froze, Israel’s recent indication to use force against Iran's nuclear plants has exacerbated tensions in the region.  

Earlier this month, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that they were mulling to use a ‘plan B’ in case Iran continues to reject the nuclear pact. Substantiating it further, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that the IDF has "greatly expedited" preparations for military action against Iran's nuclear programme. While speaking to Walla News, Kochavi indicated that a significant portion of the previously agreed-upon increase in the defence budget was set aside for this reason.

Israel-Iran shadow war

Ever since its establishment, the state of Israel has been involved in a shadow war with Iran. For years, both have traded barbs during international summits and blamed each other for killing officials by launching explosions. Israel has accused Iran of perpetuating terrorism and flouting nuclear guidelines to alter the status quo in the middle east in its favour, while Tehran has accused the Jewish leadership of being the regional bully and killing its top nuclear scientist. Additionally, the Islamic leadership has also accused the zionist intelligence and security forces of conspiring and executing secret operations on Iranian territory. 

(Image: AP)