Tehran Vows To 'Cut Hands' Off Any
Enemy Nation Dares Attack The Islamic
Republic
July 13, 2008
Iran would "cut off the hands" of any enemy that attacked the
country, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Sunday, amid
increasing tensions with the West after recent missile tests.
"Before the enemies touch the trigger, Iran's armed forces will
cut off their hands," Ahmadinejad said, according to the
state-run IRNA news agency.
His comments came after Iran intensified tensions in the nuclear
standoff by conducting two days of missile tests, which included
the firing of a missile that it says can reach Israel.
"This is only a small part of Iran's defence capabilities and in
future we will unveil more of our defence capabilities if it is
needed," Ahmadinejad said.
The United States and its regional ally Israel have never ruled
out a military attack to end Iran's controversial nuclear work,
which the West fears could be used to make weapons -- a charge
vehemently denied by Iran.
There has been concern an attack against Iran could be imminent
after it emerged Israel had carried out manoeuvres in Greece
that were effectively dry runs for a potential strike against
Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran has always warned of a ferocious response to any attack. A
military official said on Saturday that Iran would target "the
heart of Israel" and 32 US bases in the event of any attack.
Tehran said on Wednesday that it test-fired its Shahab-3 missile
-- the longest-range weapon in its arsenal -- and eight other
missiles. It said it fired more missiles on Thursday in land
manouevres at night and naval war games by day.
But diplomatic efforts to end the crisis have also continued,
with world powers proposing a package offering Tehran
technological incentives if it suspends sensitive uranium
enrichment.
Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili is to meet EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana -- who leads the talks on behalf of
world powers -- in Geneva on July 19 in their latest effort to
break the deadlock, Iranian officials said.
Hopes of a breakthrough rose in recent weeks after Ali Akbar
Velayati, the top foreign policy advisor to supreme leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said it would be in Iran's interests to
accept the package.
But Ahmadinejad on Sunday bluntly said that Velayati "has no
involvement in nuclear issue decision making".
"Mr Velayati is an esteemed person. He has opinions and he
states his opinion. Everyone in the Islamic Republic of Iran is
free to state their opinion."
Ahmadinejad has repeatedly vowed that Tehran will never suspend
enrichment as demanded by world powers, which fear Iran could
use the process to make a nuclear weapon.
"Some people wanted to organise a celebration and say that Iran
had stepped back but their celebration did not last long," said
Ahmadinejad.
"The government is in charge of the nuclear issue... taking into
account the positions of the supreme leader," he added.
But a leading Iranian reformist newspaper wrote in an editorial
that the current exchange of threats and muscle-flexing on both
sides could be aimed at saving face before reaching a compromise
deal.
"One can see that the military threats by the two sides have an
aspect of prestige to show their strength to domestic and
foreign public opinion," the Etemad daily said.
"On the other hand, talks are taking place which can act as
water over fire and quieten the hostilities if they reach an
acceptable point," it added.
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