TEHRAN, 10 June 2008 — Iran yesterday vowed a “very painful” response to any Israeli action after a senior minister of the Jewish state warned of attacks if Tehran did not halt its atomic drive, the ISNA news agency reported. “If anyone is to commit such a stupid act, (the) response will be very painful,” Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said in reaction to attack threats by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz.
“However, as soon as the comments are made, they deny it. It is evident that the words they fabricate stem from shortcomings in domestic issues,” Najjar added. Israeli officials on Sunday slammed Mofaz’s threat to attack Iran unless it halts the controversial atomic work, accusing him of exploiting the issue for political gain.
Tehran had protested the previous day to Mofaz’s remarks, in a letter to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Iran does not recognize Israel and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has drawn international condemnation by repeatedly predicting the Jewish state is doomed to disappear.
Israel and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, a charge vehemently denied by Tehran which says its atomic program is peaceful.
Meanwhile, Iran has said saboteurs opposed to the revolution were behind a rare car bomb explosion in Tehran two weeks ago that caused no casualties, a press report said yesterday. “Those behind this blind action, in which a bomb was planted in a car located on the outskirts of Tehran, were aiming to show off,” said Tehran province governor general deputy in charge of security, Ali Reza Fakhari.
The car bomb exploded in Tehran on May 26, causing damage to nearby buildings but no deaths, the Fars news agency reported at the time, adding that one person was arrested.
“The Islamic revolution has always been threatened by enemies with ill intentions,” Fakhari added, quoted by the conservative Siasat-e-Rouz newspaper.
“Thus it is natural that when our nation’s situation is appropriate they carry out actions. But thanks to God their plan was not successful as no-one died.” Tehran was hit by a string of deadly attacks in the early years of the revolution in the 1980s blamed on the outlawed armed opposition that killed dozens of people, including several top officials.
But in recent years the city has enjoyed good security and even minor blasts of this nature are extremely unusual. A blast on April 12 in the normally peaceful southern city of Shiraz that left 13 people dead and more than 200 wounded was initially said by the authorities to have been an accident. But they later said it was caused by bombers who had confessed of links to Iran’s archenemies Israel and the United States, confirming the explosion was one of the worst attacks in the country in recent years.
In another development, the European Union and the United States will say today they are ready to take extra measures against Iran on top of UN sanctions if Tehran shuns demands to suspend sensitive nuclear work, according to a draft summit communiqué.
“We are ready to supplement those (UN Security Council) sanctions with additional measures,” said the final draft of the communiqué, obtained by Reuters, to be issued at President George W. Bush’s last US-EU summit in Slovenia today.
“We will continue to work together ... to take steps to ensure Iranian banks cannot abuse the international banking system to support proliferation and terrorism,” the draft added. Western countries suspect Iran is seeking the ability to make nuclear weapons but Tehran insists its secretive program is purely aimed at generating energy.
The UN Security Council passed a third sanctions resolution against Iran in April and Washington has pressed the EU to deny targeted Iranian banks access to the international financial system.
