Iran will hit Tel Aviv with medium-range missiles if attacked, an influential senior cleric said today.
"If they [US and Israel] militarily attack Iran . . . they should be afraid of the day when our missiles with 2,000 kilometre range will hit Tel Aviv," Ahmad Khatami told state television.
Ahmad Khatami
Mr Khatami sits on the Assembly of Experts, the body of 86 clerics that constitutionally supervises the country's most powerful man, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Arms experts say Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a maximum range of around 2,000 kilometres, meaning they are capable of hitting Israel as well as US military bases in the Gulf.
Iranian military commanders have repeatedly warned they would not hesitate to deploy the Shahab-3 missiles if Iran came under attack over its disputed nuclear programme.
The US has accused Iran of planning to equip its missiles with nuclear warheads. Iran says it has no desire to have atomic weapons and is only developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, such as electricity generation.
US President George W. Bush reiterated last night that Iran must not be allowed manufacture nuclear weapons.
"Iran has made clear that it seeks the destruction of Israel. We can only imagine how much more dangerous this conflict would be if Iran had the nuclear weapon it seeks," he said.
Tehran has vowed to expand its atomic fuel activities, however, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding it halt nuclear work by August 31st or face the threat of sanctions.
Mr Bush has repeatedly blamed Iran and Syria for supporting Hizbullah in Lebanon, but last night his emphasis was on Tehran - saying it must back off supporting fighters in both Iraq and Lebanon.
Iran, which refuses to recognise Israel, says it only gives moral support to anti-Israeli groups such as Hamas and Hizbullah and denies backing insurgents in neighbouring Iraq.
Mr Khatami also praised Lebanon's Hizbullah for its resistance against Israel, saying that Mr Bush and Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should have learned lessons from the month-long war in Lebanon.
"I congratulate Hizbullah for its victory, which was the victory of Islam. This was a disgraceful defeat for America and the Zionist regime (Israel)," he said.