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    November 10, 2011

Iran Vows to Counter Foreign Strike with 'Iron Fist'

   VOA News
   Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in the province of
   Kermanshah, west of Tehran, October 15, 2011.
   Photo: Reuters
   Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (file photo)

   Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned the United
   States and Israel not to attack Iranian nuclear sites, saying his
   country will respond to such action with "strong slaps and iron fists."
   In a nationally-televised speech to military cadets in Tehran Thursday,
   Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran does not intend to start a conflict. But
   he said Iran will strike back.
   The comments were the strongest yet since Israeli officials began
   making references to potential military action against the Iranian
   nuclear program in recent days. Israel and the West suspect Iran is
   trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear
   program, a charge Iran denies.
   The [1]International Atomic Energy Agency released a report Tuesday
   saying it has "credible" evidence of Iranian efforts to design a
   nuclear weapon. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the
   accusation and vowed his country will not retreat "one iota" from its
   nuclear activities. Iran says those activities are aimed at the
   peaceful generation of energy.
   Israel responded to the IAEA report by calling on the international
   community to stop Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and endangering
   world peace. Israel is widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal
   in the Middle East. It sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its
   existence.
   Britain, France and Germany warned that Iran faces additional sanctions
   if it refuses to address international concerns about its nuclear work.
   But, China's foreign ministry said Thursday new sanctions will not
   "fundamentally" resolve the Iranian nuclear dispute. It called for more
   dialogue between the parties.
   The U.N. Security Council has passed four sets of sanctions on Iran for
   refusing to stop nuclear activities that have both civilian and
   military uses. Permanent Council members China and Russia have shown
   little willingness to impose more.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

   1. http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/iaeairan/index.shtml
   2. http://twitter.com/VOAMiddleEast
   3. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667?%20%20%20%20v=wall

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