TEHRAN, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran would strike Tel Aviv
and the U.S. fleet in the Gulf as a first response to any attack against the
Islamic republic, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said
Tuesday.
"The Zionist regime (Israel) is pressuring White
House officials to prepare a military attack against Iran," Iran's ISNA news
agency quoted Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards
navy division, as saying.
"If they commit such a silly move, Tel Aviv and the
U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be
burned with Iran's crushing response," Shirazi said.
He warned that the U.S. interests around the world
would also be hit if Iran is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities.
"The first bullet fired by the United States at Iran
will be followed by Iran's response of burning down its vital interests around
the globe," Shirazi said.
"The Iranian nation will never accept
bullying...(and) no forces in the world can confront it," he added.
Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV
reported earlier Tuesday that missile units of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) have begun military maneuvers in the Gulf to improve combat
readiness and capability.
The war games, called Payambar-e Azam 3, were
conducted by missile units of the IRGC's naval and air forces, Press TV quoted
local Mehr and Fars news agencies as saying.
The war games came after IRGC Commander Major General
Mohammad Ali Jafari said in late June that Tehran would impose controls on
shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz if it was attacked.
The United States and its allies have accused Iran of
trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program.
Iran has denied the U.S. charges and insists that its nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes only.
The Bush administration said it focused on diplomacy
to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue, but has insisted it will take "no option
off the table."
Some observers believe that it is still possible that
the United States and Israel would attack Iranian targets for Tehran's
suspicious nuclear programs.
PARIS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) foreign
policy chief Javier Solana has said he is not optimistic about the prospects of
a breakthrough with Iran over its nuclear program.
Solana, who is here to attend a conference on
boosting EU-NATO ties, told reporters on Monday he hoped to hold talks with
Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili before the end of the month. Full story
CAIRO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior Arab official
warned that oil prices would jump to more than 200 U.S. dollars a barrel if Iran
was militarily attacked, the Egyptian state MENA news agency reported on Sunday.
Secretary General of the Council of Arab Economic
Unity (CAEU) Ahmed Guwaili made the remarks in an interview with Egypt's
Arabicdaily Al Gomhuria published on Sunday. Full story
TEHRAN, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said Saturday that no country will ever dare to carry out an act of aggression against the Islamic Republic, Iran's satellite Press TV reported.
"Iran's capabilities are such that no country can conceive of attacking it," Nozari said. Full story
