TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian officials vowed
on Sunday that the Islamic Republic would fight back against any attacks on it
and "cut off the hands" of the invaders, amid heightened speculation that Israel
and the United States would attack Iranian targets for Tehran's suspicious
nuclear programs.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
adjusts his earphone during a news conference after the Eight Developing
Islamic Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur July 8, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"Before the enemies touch the trigger, the Iranian
armed forces will cut off their hands," the official IRNA news agency quoted
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying.
He said the missiles displayed in the recent war
games, including a modified Shahab 3 missile that can reach Israel and most U.S.
bases in the Middle East, were only a small part of the country's defense
capabilities.
"This is only a small part of Iran's defense
capabilities," Ahmadinejad said, adding that "if it is necessary, we will
display more of our defense capabilities."
Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General
Hassan Firouzabadi also said on Sunday that Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) is well-prepared to defend the country from any possible attack.
Speaking at the induction ceremony for commanders of
IRGC ground forces and Basij militia, Firouzabadi said that 31 provincial guards
have been formed to fight off enemies' threats.
"Once, the country's adversaries were trying to
attack Iran, but when they saw the Iranian nation consolidated and united, they
changed their minds," Firouzabadi added.
In separate decrees, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei has appointed Brigadier-General Mohammad Jafar Assadi as commander
of IRGC's ground force, and Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb the new commander of the
Basij force.
The new appointments of military commanders came
after the IRGC held military exercises dubbed Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great Prophet
3)last week in response to threats from the United States and Israel.
A video grab from Al Alam television
shows three of nine long- and medium-range missiles being fired during a
test in Iran July 9, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
During the recent military maneuvers, Iran test-fired
new long-and medium-range missiles, including the upgraded Shahab 3 missile
equipped with a one-ton conventional warhead and capable of hitting targets
within a 2,000-km range.
In the wake of the Islamic Republic's missile test,
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has warned Iran that Israel will not
hesitate to resort to military action.
Terming Iran's action as "a challenge not only for
Israel but for the entire world," Barak was quoted Thursday by Israeli daily
Yedioth Ahronoth as saying that "Israel is the strongest country in the region,
and it has proven in the past that it is not afraidto act when its vital
interests are threatened."
In June, U.S. newspaper The New York Times reported
that U.S. military believed Israel's a major military exercise in early June was
a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear sites.
Some American officials said the Israeli exercise
appeared to be an effort to develop the military's capacity to carry out
long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views
Iran's nuclear program.
However, some Iranian observers believed that Israel
and the United States were only staging a psychological war in order to
influence the decision-making of the Iranian government.
"At least during the past two months, the United
States and Israel, despite their rhetorics, were not in a position to launch an
attack on Iran," Iranian daily Ettela'at on Saturday quoted Mohammad Ali
Mohtadi, an Iranian political commentator, as saying.
"The reason is that it has been proved that Iran is
very serious in its intention of self-defense and of maintaining its rights,"
Mohtadi said. "There is no doubt that any offense on Iran will devour the entire
Middle East as well as the global interests."
"Therefore, the probability of war is almost
impossible," he said.
The United States and its allies accused Iran of
trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program,
but Iran denied the U.S. charges and insists that its nuclear program is only
for peaceful purposes.
The U.S. 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."
A Pentagon official told The Sunday Times in London
this week that Bush has given Israel an "amber light" to begin preparations for
a military attack on Iran.
"Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by
for immediate attack and tell us when you are ready," the unidentified Pentagon
official was quoted as saying.
But the Israelis have also been told that they can
expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use U.S. military
bases in Iraq for logistical support, according to the report.
Nor is it certain that Bush's amber light would ever
turn to green without irrefutable evidence of lethal Iranian hostility, The
Sunday Times said.
"It's really all down to the Israelis," the Pentagon
official said, adding that "Israel had not so far presented Bush with a
convincing military proposal."
TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader
Ayatollah AliKhamenei has appointed new commanders of the Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC)'s ground force and the Basij militia, Iran's
English-language satellite channel Press TV reported Sunday.
In separate decrees, Brigadier-General Mohammad Jafar
Assadi was appointed commander of IRGC's ground force, while Hojjatoleslam
Hossein Taeb was named the new commander of IRGC's Basij force. Full story
TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that he was ready to talk with U.S. President George
W. Bush directly, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"As I have previously announced, I am ready to talk
with Mr. Bush directly," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying after a cabinet
meeting. Full story
TEHRAN, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Tehran would target the
heart of Israel and 32 U.S. bases in the Middle East if Iran is under attack, an
aide to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday.
"In case the United States and Israel dare to shoot a
bullet, Iran will target the heart of Israel and 32 U.S. bases in the region
imminently," said Mojtaba Zolnoor, vice representative of Khamenei to Iran's
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the semi-official Fars News Agency
reported. Full story
WASHINGTON, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The White House on
Friday accused Iran of defying international obligations by conducting missile
tests, but insisted it would still try to solve the issue through diplomacy.
Speaking of Iran's recent missile tests, White House
spokesperson Dana Perino said "I would just characterize it as continued Iranian
defiance of international obligations and further isolating its people." Full story
BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Despite the recent
flaring of tension on the longstanding Iranian nuclear standoff, the issue is
unlikely to either trigger a war or inspire a quick peaceful solution in a short
time, analysts say.
Latest incidents concerning the defiant Persian Gulf
country on the one hand, and the United States and Israel on the other, have
only helped confuse matters further. Full story
