The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Report: Iran to hit Israel if attacked
By Ali Akbar Dareini
AP News/Excite
© June 28, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The commander of Iran's Revolutionary
Guards warned that Tehran would respond to an attack
against it by barraging Israel with missiles and controlling
a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf, said a newspaper
report published Saturday.
The report in the conservative Jam-e-Jam newspaper comes
after the disclosure of a recent Israeli military exercise
over the Mediterranean Sea that was seen as sending a
message to Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions.
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said there were strong deterrents
against striking Iran, including the country's missile
power, the vulnerability of Israeli and U.S. forces in
the region and the low probability of a successful attack.
Iran has spread its nuclear facilities across the country
and has built key portions underground to protect it from
airstrikes.
But Jafari warned that if attacked, Iran would strike back,
including choking off the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a
narrow outlet for oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf.
"Naturally, any country coming under attack will use all
of its capacity and opportunities to confront the enemy.
Given the main route for energy to exit the region, one
of Iran's steps will definitely be to exercise control
on the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz," Jafari
told Jam-e-Jam, which is affiliated with Iran's state-run
radio and television network.
In 2006, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
also threatened to disrupt the world's oil supply if the
United States attacked Iran. Iran is the world's fourth
largest oil producer. About 60 percent of the world's oil
passes through the strait.
"Should a confrontation erupt between us and the enemy,
the scope will definitely reach the oil issue. ... Oil
prices will dramatically increase. This is one of the
factors deterring the enemy from taking military action,"
Jafari was quoted as saying.
U.S. officials have suggested that the Israeli drill,
conducted from May 28 to June 12, was a dress rehearsal
for an Israeli strike.
But the Greek government, which took part in the exercise,
rejected that assessment. And some observers have said the
disclosure of the maneuvers was aimed at getting the
international community to step up diplomatic pressure
on Iran.
Just before the drill, Europe presented Tehran an offer
of economic incentives to halt its enrichment of uranium.
Iran has not formally responded. Less than a week ago, the
European Union named Iran's largest commercial bank, the
Revolutionary Guards' chief and the head of the country's
nuclear program as the targets of new sanctions imposed
over Tehran's nuclear defiance.
The United States and Israel say Iran's nuclear program is
intended to produce weapons - a claim Iran denies, saying
its program is for peaceful purposes including producing energy.
Israel has a doctrine of "nuclear ambiguity" and has never
confirmed nor denied having its own nuclear weapons program.
Jafari also warned that an attack against Iran will also
prompt Muslims, including Shiites, to harm U.S. and Israeli
interests throughout the Middle East in retaliation to any
attack against Iran. He mentioned the Tehran-backed Lebanese
militant group Hezbollah.
Iran and Israel are each other's biggest foes, and Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel's
destruction. Though Israel has said it favors a diplomatic
solution to the nuclear standoff, it has not ruled out a
military strike.
An Israeli air attack that destroyed an unfinished
nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981 and a strike on a suspected
nuclear facility in Syria in September have added to the
suspicions that Israel is planning action against Iran.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All right reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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Last Modified:
September 21, 2008