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Iran Says If Attacked, It Will Strike Israel

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The Associated Press

Published: June 29, 2008

TEHRAN, Iran - TEHRAN, Iran - The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned that Tehran would respond to an attack against it by barraging Israel with missiles and restricting a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf, said a newspaper report published Saturday.

The report in the conservative Jam-e-Jam newspaper, which is affiliated with Iran's state-run radio and television network, 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 success.

Iran has spread its nuclear facilities across the country and has built key portions underground to protect them 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.

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.

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