I believe they are saying "this is not a threat, it's just what we have to do". A threat implies an intent which is not here, they are saying they won't be all

I believe they are saying "this is not a threat, it's just what we have to do". A threat implies an intent which is not here, they are saying they won't be allowed to operate because they can only operate this way. It's like: "my car can only go to N km/h", it's not a threat they can't go at N+1, but a statement. (I doubt it's true, anyway)