The Iran nuclear program's Arak heavy water reactor. Photo: Nanking2012/Wikimedia Commons.

In the same week that Iran announced the unveiling of new missile systems, General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, on Wednesday called for additional defense systems to protect its nuclear facilities, according to semi-official state media Fars.

“Threat assessment and civil defense systems need to be deployed in the seven Iranian nuclear provinces,” Jalali said. Fars said the seven provinces are Tehran, Bushehr, Hormozgan, Ardebil, Markazi, Isfahan and Yazd.

The news agency recalled that Asqar Zare’an, Deputy Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for Nuclear Security and Safeguards, said in November that Iran was prepared to “confront any foreign threat to its peaceful nuclear activities,” it said.

“In cooperation with security forces, we will uproot any move against our peaceful nuclear activities,” Zare’an was quoted as saying.“Cooperation and consensus of each Iranian is an inevitable necessity for foiling the plots hatched by the enemies of the great Iranian nation,” Zare’an was quoted as saying at the time.

Fars said that the smallest movements of Iran’s enemies are being watched, and quoted Zare’an as saying, “G-d willingly we will uproot any inconsistent movement of the foreigners in cooperation with other security organizations.”