Iran threatens ‘decisive strike’ if US attacks

Iran has threatened to hit back with an “even more decisive strike” if the US bombs its nuclear installations, as international tensions rise following Washington’s imposition of sanctions against Teheran.

The head of the Revolutionary Guards – the elite Iranian force designated a “proliferator of weapons of mass destruction” yesterday – dismissed talk of US air strikes but said Iran was ready to defend itself if attacked.

“The Islamic Republic has the strength and power of its people’s faith. This power is joined with experience, knowledge and technology in the realms of defence,” Mohammad Ali Jaafari said.

“The enemy knows it cannot make any mistake, so these words are just exaggeration. We will reply to any strike with an even more decisive strike.”

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Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said: “The hostile American policies towards the respectable people of Iran and the country’s legal institutions are contrary to international law, without value and – as in the past – doomed to failure.”

Beijing and Moscow have already come out against the sanctions, with President Vladimir Putin of Russia comparing the Bush administration to “mad people wielding razor blades”

The Chinese foreign ministry today said the penalties would “only complicate the issue”.

The Telegraph