Iran has put its defence systems around its nuclear sites on high alert amid fears of an attack by Israel and the US, The Telegraph has learnt.
According to two high-level government sources, the Islamic Republic has also been bolstering defences around key nuclear and missile sites, which include the deployment of additional air defence system launchers.
Officials say the measures are in response to growing concerns of potential joint military action by Israel and the United States.
It follows warnings from US intelligence to both the Biden and Trump administrations that Israel would likely target key Iranian nuclear sites this year.
“They [Iranian authorities] are just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night and everything has been on high alert – even in sites that no one knows about,” one source told The Telegraph.
“Work to fortify nuclear sites has been ongoing for years but it has intensified over the past year, particularly since Israel launched the first attack,” he added.
“Recent developments, including Donald Trump’s comments and reports about potential plans from his administration to strike Iran, have further intensified activities.”
Israel and Iran have been engaged in a long shadow war, mainly between Israel and the Islamic Republic’s proxies.
Since the war in Gaza began in 2023, both sides have carried out daring attacks on each other.
In October last year, Iran launched unprecedented strikes involving 200 missiles on Israel, which retaliated with airstrikes.
Iran now fears that with the support of Mr Trump, who has advocated for Israel to hit Iran’s nuclear facilities, an Israeli attack is imminent.
The official acknowledged that any big strike could leave Iran vulnerable against its defence systems which were heavily weakened by last year’s Israel strikes.
“Several additional [air defence system] launchers have been deployed, but there is an understanding that they may not be effective in the event of a large-scale strike,” he said.
The Islamic regime has domestically developed an air defence system and has Russian S-300s to protect its nuclear sites.
However, these are not thought to be robust enough to protect against Israel’s cutting-edge weapons, prompting Iran to pressure Russia into expediting a delivery of S-400 missile systems.
Iran can deploy S-300s to protect from aerial threats – Shutterstock
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) aerospace force commander, announced this week that Iran is also developing a ballistic missile defence system to defend against an Israeli attack.
He said: “Regarding anti-ballistic systems, in recent events, we suffered damage in this area, which shows a deficiency in the country’s ballistic defence sector.”
“In every meeting that I, along with [IRGC] commander [Hossein] Salami and [chief of staff of Iran’s armed force] commander [Mohammad] Bagheri, had with the supreme leader, his first question was always: ‘What happened? Where does it stand?’” he said.
He said the defence system will be ready in March to equip Tehran and several major cities with an anti-ballistic defence system.
“Currently, we are capable of producing missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometres and have no technical limitations in this regard. If there is a threat from the United States, we can strike nearby targets with low-cost missiles,” he said.
‘Maximum pressure’ from Trump
Israel’s victories over Iran’s proxy networks such as Hamas and Hezbollah, the fall of Bashar al-Assad the Syrian president who was Tehran’s main ally, and regional setbacks have severely weakened the Iranian regime.
The losses have fuelled dissent at home and raised hopes for change.
It has left Iran vulnerable to Mr Trump’s hawkish stance on the country. Since he came to power he has resumed his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, including efforts to stop it from obtaining nuclear weapons by driving its oil exports down to zero.
On Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said with Mr Trump’s support, his government would “finish the job” with Iran.
Analysts say it is unlikely Israel would be able to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme without receiving help from the United States.
Mr Trump has expressed a preference for making a deal with Tehran but has also made it clear that he is considering US military action if negotiations fail.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, addresses clerics during a meeting in Tehran on Monday – Iranian Supreme Leader’s Office/Shutterstock
The Iranian official who spoke to The Telegraph said there are now fears in Tehran that “the US could join in and launch a larger-scale attack that could put the Islamic Republic’s existence in danger”.
On Sunday, Michael Waltz, the US national security adviser, said: “All options are on the table.”
“They [Iran] are an irrational actor that we cannot allow to have their finger on the button,” he added.
He said Mr Trump was willing “to talk to Iran” only on condition of giving up the “entire [nuclear] programme and not play games as we’ve seen Iran do in the past.”
Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group, told The Telegraph there are several ways the US could support an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear sites.
He said: “The US can support it politically, the US can support it in terms of intelligence reconnaissance and aerial refuelling capabilities, also the US can support in transferring advanced munitions and delivery vehicles to be able to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.”
Iran’s military carried out drills in Konarak, in the south east of the country, amid heightened fears of attack – Iranian Army Office/Shutterstock
One of the challenges for Israel in hitting Iran is that its warplanes must travel over 1,500 kilometres to be within striking distance. This requires mid-air refuelling over potentially hostile territory while facing Iran’s Russian-made air defences.
Mr Brodsky said there is “always the option of the United States participating in strikes with Israel on the nuclear file”.
“The Iranian regime is eyeing these different options very wearily, their nervousness has increased, understandably, as a result of the reports in the US media and the US intelligence assessments which Israel ready is to strike the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme this year.”
Iran is now seeking ways to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which Mr Trump withdrew from in 2018, while the US is pushing for complete disarmament.
Mr Brodsky said: “As long as both sides are speaking with such demands, there is unlikely to be a sustainable diplomatic settlement to this issue and that necessitates the US to develop a very robust pressure architecture that we have seen the Trump administration start to do.”
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