- DUBAI (Reuters) -- Iran might
launch preemptive strikes to protect its nuclear facilities if they are
threatened, Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said in remarks broadcast on
Friday.
-
- "We won't sit with our hands tied and wait until
someone does something to us," Shamkhani told Arabic channel Al Jazeera
when asked what Iran would do if the United States or Israel attacked its
atomic facilities.
-
- "Some military leaders in Iran are convinced that
the pre-emptive measures that America is talking about are not their right
alone," he added in Persian. His comments were dubbed into Arabic.
-
- "Any strike on our nuclear facilities will be regarded
as a strike on Iran and we will respond with all our might."
-
- Shamkhani's comments come amid media speculation that
Israel may try to halt Iran's nuclear program through air strikes. Israel
destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981.
-
- Many diplomats and defense experts say military strikes
on Iran's atomic facilities would delay but not destroy the development
of any nuclear weapons program.
-
- The U.S. believes Iran is trying to acquire such weapons
under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. Iran insists its nuclear
program is intended for peaceful purposes.
-
- Washington has sought to persuade Western allies to take
a tougher line on Iran, but Britain, Germany and France say they prefer
to try and persuade Tehran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
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