Published at 1035 EAT on 18th April 2022.

Iran’s armed forces will target Israel’s heart if it makes “the slightest move” against the Islamic Republic, President Ebrahim Raisi told a military parade on Monday.

“If you make slightest move against our nation … our armed forces destination will be the heart of the Zionist regime,” Raisi said in a televised speech.

Israel, which the Islamic Republic refuses to recognise, says it will not accept Iran as “a nuclear threshold state”, while Tehran and world powers have been trying to revive a 2015 nuclear pact.

Almost a year of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington were suspended last month. Israel says it will not be bound by any deal and could eventually take unilateral action against Iranian nuclear sites.