TEHRAN: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran is stronger than ever and warned that its military will “cut the hand” of anyone who attacks. But a military parade where he spoke was marred when an air force plane crashed, killing seven people, according to state radio.

There was not immediate word on the cause of the crash. State radio and television did not specify the type of plane that crashed, saying only it was used for transport.

The air force show Tuesday included US-made jet fighters and bombers acquired by Iran before its 1979 revolution, as well as more recently acquired Russian aircraft and Iran’s domestically built fighter, known as the Saeqeh, or Thunderbolt.

The air show was part of a military parade held on Tehran’s southern outskirts showing off anti-missile and anti-aircraft systems that Iran bought from Russia in 2007 to protect its nuclear facilities as well as Iran’s array of missiles capable of striking Israel, the Mideast and parts of Eastern Europe. The parade marked the anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 Iraq-Iran war in which an estimated 1 million people were killed.

Iran’s military readiness is such that “no power dares imagine an invasion against Iran,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech at the parade. “The Iranian nation will resist all invaders.” “Our armed forces will cut the hand of anyone in the world before it pulls the trigger against the Iranian nation,” he said.

The remark reflects Tehran’s concerns that Israel or the United States could target it in an attempt to take out its nuclear facilities. The US and its allies accuse Iran of secretly seeking to build nuclear weapons, but Tehran denies the charge and says it’s for peaceful purposes only.

On Monday, Israel repeated its stance that it is keeping “all options on the table” to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear weapon, including military action.

Ahmadinejad is preparing to appear Wednesday at the UN General Assembly, where he is expected to come under heavy pressure over the nuclear issue. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will boycott that speech, Israeli officials said Tuesday, adding they hoped other world leaders would do the same.

Iran is also poised to enter key negotiations with the US and other powers seeking concessions on Iran’s nuclear program on Oct. 1.

Tuesday’s parade speech was also meant to underline Ahmadinejad’s strength in the face of a three-month domestic turmoil in which the pro-reform opposition has staged dramatic protests claiming Ahmadinejad’s victory in June presidential elections was fraudulent.

Meanwhile, former US President Bill Clinton said Tuesday that Ahmadinejad is “lashing out at the world” right now, possibly because of the international criticism after his violence-marred re-election. Appearing on NBC’s “Today” show, Clinton said the question remains “whether this is a strategy in play and whether we can find some way” to engage the Iranian leader.

Last week, Ahmadinejad taunted Israel, questioning whether the Holocaust was “a real event” and calling it a pretext used by Jews to trick the West into backing the creation of Israel.