Iranian military vows to respond to foreign threats

Iranian military on Wednesday delivered a stern reaction to the recent US verbal hostility,saying it is highly prepared to respond to any foreign threats, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"Though the US and Israel dare not to embark on any aggression against Iran, however, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has highly mobilized its forces to deal with any aggression," IRGC Commander Rahim Safavi was quoted as saying.

Safavi said Iran is an effective country in the security plan ofthe Middle East and the United States could not ignore Iran's vitalrole in the security of the region.

"However, the IRGC will strongly stand up to the US greed incase of any conspiracy to that effect," Safavi said.US President George W. Bush said on Jan. 17 that he would notrule out military actions against Iran.

Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice, one day later,urged the world to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons andthreatened to refer Tehran's nuclear case to the UN Security Council.

At the inauguration ceremony of Bush's second term on Jan. 20,Vice President Dick Cheney ranked Iran on top of a list of global trouble spots.

Many senior Iranian officials, including President Mohammad Khatami, have warned Washington against any attempt of attack.The United States, accusing Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons, has threatened to launch preemptive attacks on Iran'snuclear facilities.

Iran rejects the charge and threat, saying its nuclear research is fully peaceful and boasting an effective deterrent power to confront its enemies in the region.

Source: Xinhua