Iranian official claims Pakistan will launch nuclear strike on Israel if Tel Aviv uses nukes
Pakistan denies
Tehran: A senior Iranian official has claimed that Pakistan has assured Tehran of a nuclear response against Israel if the Zionist state uses nuclear weapons in the ongoing conflict. Mohsen Rezaei, a top commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and member of the National Security Council, made the statement during an interview on Iranian state television.
“Pakistan has told us that if Israel uses nuclear missiles, we will also attack it with nuclear weapons,” Rezaei asserted, implying a potential deepening of regional hostilities.
Pakistan’s Shaheen-III missile, with a range of up to 2,700 kilometers, is capable of reaching Israeli territory. While the Pakistani military has not officially commented, the missile is believed to be operational under the country’s strategic forces.
However, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif later dismissed the claim, stating unequivocally that Islamabad had made no such commitment. In a post on X, Asif emphasised that Pakistan’s policy had not changed, but also cautioned that Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, especially amid the current volatile situation, could embolden Tel Aviv to act more aggressively — raising the risk of a broader regional conflict.
Despite rejecting the nuclear claim, Pakistan has expressed firm diplomatic solidarity with Iran. On June 14, Defence Minister Asif urged Muslim countries to unite against what he described as Israeli aggression not just toward Iran, but also Palestine and Yemen. He called on countries maintaining ties with Israel to sever them and urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to craft a joint strategy.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a recent phone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, condemned Israeli airstrikes as violations of Iran’s sovereignty and called for urgent international intervention.
The Israel-Iran conflict has intensified dramatically, with Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites in cities such as Tehran and Mashhad. Iran has responded with its own missile attacks. Both sides have reported casualties.
Rezaei also warned that Iran has undisclosed capabilities and strategies that could shift the balance in the ongoing conflict, adding to global concerns over further escalation.
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Switching to electric power has saved Railways Rs 6,000 crore: Vaishnaw in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): The Railways has saved Rs 6,000 crore by shifting from diesel to electric energy to run trains, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Responding to a debate on demands for grants of the Railway Ministry, he also said that the national transporter has become the second largest cargo carrier in the world.
Vaishnaw said that during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, 35,000 km of railway track has been laid while 27,000 km has been electrified.
He said while staff cost is the biggest expenditure of the Railways, energy is the second biggest expenditure.
He noted that in coming times diesel locomotives will fade away making way for electric locomotives.
Vaishnaw said since the Modi government came to power in 2014, politics of performance has taken over from politics of vote.
He said that in a visionary decision, PM Modi had decided to merge the railway budget with the general budget which has led to increase in financial allocation for his ministry.
Now, new trains are inaugurated and new projects are launched throughout the year, which was not the case earlier. Railways' financial health has increased and so has transparency in publishing accounts, he said.
Vaishnaw noted that the Finance Ministry and other agencies keep a tab on monetary health using IT systems.
As many as 210 MPs participated in the debate which lasted two days.
