国际英语新闻：Iran vows to fight back amid mounting speculation on war

TEHRAN, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian officials vowed on Sunday that the Islamic Republic would fight back against any attacks on it and "cut off the hands" of the invaders, amid heightened speculation that Israel and the United States would attack Iranian targets for Tehran's suspicious nuclear programs.

"Before the enemies touch the trigger, the Iranian armed forces will cut off their hands," the official IRNA news agency quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adjusts his earphone during a news conference after the Eight Developing Islamic Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur July 8, 2008.

    He said the missiles displayed in the recent war games, including a modified Shahab 3 missile that can reach Israel and most U.S. bases in the Middle East, were only a small part of the country's defense capabilities.

    "This is only a small part of Iran's defense capabilities," Ahmadinejad said, adding that "if it is necessary, we will display more of our defense capabilities."

    Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi also said on Sunday that Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is well-prepared to defend the country from any possible attack.

    Speaking at the induction ceremony for commanders of IRGC ground forces and Basij militia, Firouzabadi said that 31 provincial guards have been formed to fight off enemies' threats.

    "Once, the country's adversaries were trying to attack Iran, but when they saw the Iranian nation consolidated and united, they changed their minds," Firouzabadi added.

    In separate decrees, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Brigadier-General Mohammad Jafar Assadi as commander of IRGC's ground force, and Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb the new commander of the Basij force.

    The new appointments of military commanders came after the IRGC held military exercises dubbed Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great Prophet 3)last week in response to threats from the United States and Israel.

A video grab from Al Alam television shows three of nine long- and medium-range missiles being fired during a test in Iran July 9, 2008

During the recent military maneuvers, Iran test-fired new long-and medium-range missiles, including the upgraded Shahab 3 missile equipped with a one-ton conventional warhead and capable of hitting targets within a 2,000-km range.

    In the wake of the Islamic Republic's missile test, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has warned Iran that Israel will not hesitate to resort to military action.

    Terming Iran's action as "a challenge not only for Israel but for the entire world," Barak was quoted Thursday by Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth as saying that "Israel is the strongest country in the region, and it has proven in the past that it is not afraidto act when its vital interests are threatened."

    In June, U.S. newspaper The New York Times reported that U.S. military believed Israel's a major military exercise in early June was a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

    Some American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the military's capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran's nuclear program.

    However, some Iranian observers believed that Israel and the United States were only staging a psychological war in order to influence the decision-making of the Iranian government.

    "At least during the past two months, the United States and Israel, despite their rhetorics, were not in a position to launch an attack on Iran," Iranian daily Ettela'at on Saturday quoted Mohammad Ali Mohtadi, an Iranian political commentator, as saying.

    "The reason is that it has been proved that Iran is very serious in its intention of self-defense and of maintaining its rights," Mohtadi said. "There is no doubt that any offense on Iran will devour the entire Middle East as well as the global interests."

    "Therefore, the probability of war is almost impossible," he said.

    The United States and its allies accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, but Iran denied the U.S. charges and insists that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.

    The U.S. administration said it focused on diplomacy to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue, but has insisted it will take "no option off the table."

    A Pentagon official told The Sunday Times in London this week that Bush has given Israel an "amber light" to begin preparations for a military attack on Iran.

    "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you are ready," the unidentified Pentagon official was quoted as saying.

    But the Israelis have also been told that they can expect no help from American forces and will not be able to use U.S. military bases in Iraq for logistical support, according to the report.

    Nor is it certain that Bush's amber light would ever turn to green without irrefutable evidence of lethal Iranian hostility, The Sunday Times said.

    "It's really all down to the Israelis," the Pentagon official said, adding that "Israel had not so far presented Bush with a convincing military proposal."