Iran warns Israel not to attack nuclear sites
Iran warned Israel on Tuesday against attacking the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities, a day after the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, raised tensions between the two foes by calling Israel the ‘most cruel and repressive racist regime’ at a UN conference in Geneva.
Israel has identified Iran as its biggest threat, citing the country’s nuclear programme and its development of long-range ballistic missiles.
But parliament speaker Ali Larijani said if Israel attacked, ‘Iran will respond in a way that they will not be able to sleep easy anymore.’
He made the remark at a meeting in Tehran of top prosecutors from Islamic countries, who are trying to find ways to arrange for the arrest and prosecution of Israeli leaders on war crimes charges over the Gaza assault earlier this year.
Larijani’s comments came a day after Ahmadinejad’s speech to a UN racism conference prompted European diplomats to walk out and drew sharp criticism from Israel.
Ahmadinejad got a hero’s welcome when he returned Tuesday to Tehran airport, where about 200 people greeted him with bouquets of flowers.
A few hard-line lawmakers said Ahmadinejad demonstrated Iranian dignity and greatness during the conference. State TV said he defended Palestinian rights against a racist regime.
The official IRNA news agency quoted lawmaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar as saying the speech in Geneva was a ‘great achievement for the [Iran’s ruling] system.’ Morteza Agha Tehrani, another conservative lawmaker, said ‘Ahmadinejad taught Arab and Islamic nations how to stand up and get their rights.’
Israel, which has a new hardline government led by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not have any immediate comment on Larijani’s remarks. But last week, the president, Shimon Peres, dismissed the idea that Israel was planning any attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israel has identified Iran as its biggest threat, citing the country’s nuclear programme and its development of long-range ballistic missiles.
But parliament speaker Ali Larijani said if Israel attacked, ‘Iran will respond in a way that they will not be able to sleep easy anymore.’
He made the remark at a meeting in Tehran of top prosecutors from Islamic countries, who are trying to find ways to arrange for the arrest and prosecution of Israeli leaders on war crimes charges over the Gaza assault earlier this year.
Larijani’s comments came a day after Ahmadinejad’s speech to a UN racism conference prompted European diplomats to walk out and drew sharp criticism from Israel.
Ahmadinejad got a hero’s welcome when he returned Tuesday to Tehran airport, where about 200 people greeted him with bouquets of flowers.
A few hard-line lawmakers said Ahmadinejad demonstrated Iranian dignity and greatness during the conference. State TV said he defended Palestinian rights against a racist regime.
The official IRNA news agency quoted lawmaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar as saying the speech in Geneva was a ‘great achievement for the [Iran’s ruling] system.’ Morteza Agha Tehrani, another conservative lawmaker, said ‘Ahmadinejad taught Arab and Islamic nations how to stand up and get their rights.’
Israel, which has a new hardline government led by the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not have any immediate comment on Larijani’s remarks. But last week, the president, Shimon Peres, dismissed the idea that Israel was planning any attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
