Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Second direct Iranian warning to the USA

(see the first one here)

TEHRAN, Sept 11-- The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Tuesday that the country has identified US weak points in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The comments by Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Jaafari, appointed head of the elite force by the leader of Islamic Revolution just 10 days ago, come amid mounting tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran's peaceful nuclear drive and its role in Iraq.

"The Revolutionary Guards have identified all the weak points of the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and based on this have consolidated the defensive capabilities of the country," Brigadier General Jaafari said.

"And if the enemy wants to take any impudent action the Islamic republic will for sure give a decisive response," he said, according to state broadcasting.

Tehran has always warned of a tough response to any aggression while insisting it would never initiate an attack.

Brigadier General Rahim Yahya Safavi, Jaafari's predecessor and now special military advisor to the leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had warned last week that the United States has not realized how at risk its troops were.

Iran has strongly insisted on its nuclear rights and vehemently denies seeking nuclear weapons and also rejects charges regarding its interference in Iraq, saying it fully supports the Baghdad government's drive to restore security in the war-torn country.