Doha: Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
ruled out an attack on the Islamic republic over its nuclear
programme, during a visit to Qatar on Sunday, because any such
action would result in Israel's destruction.
"Any act against Iran will lead to the eradication of the
Zionist entity," he told a joint news conference in Doha with
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, after their
talks.
Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power,
has not ruled out a military strike to prevent Iran acquiring
an atomic weapons capability, an ambition its arch-foe Tehran
strongly denies.
"The Zionist entity and the US government would hit any
country in the region whenever they are able to do so, and
they will not wait to get permission. But (at the moment) they
cannot," he said.
"Iran has the ability to retaliate, strong and hard,"
warned Ahmadinejad, whose comments in Farsi were translated
into Arabic.
Iran's hardline president said the talk of war against
Iran to halt its controversial nuclear programme was aimed at
putting psychological pressure on Tehran.
"There will be no war against Iran. What could take place
is a psychological war," he said.
In renewed criticism of the relaunched direct peace
negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, Ahmadinejad
charged that the "decaying" Jewish state was hoping to
"revive" itself through the talks.
"The Zionist entity is decaying. It is in a critically
difficult state, and hopes to revive itself through an
unfruitful dialogue," he said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, September 06, 2010, 00:12