http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1473466420070514
Iran vows "severe" response if U.S. attacks
Mon May 14, 2007 10:12AM EDT
By Diala Saadeh
ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday
threatened "severe" retaliation if the United States attacked his
country, which is locked in a standoff with the West over its nuclear
program.
"They realize that if they make such a mistake the retaliation of Iran
would be severe and they will repent," Ahmadinejad told a news
conference in the United Arab Emirates. He was speaking through an
interpreter.
"All people know they cannot strike us. Iran is capable of defending
itself. It is a strong country," said Ahmadinejad.
He said the West could not stop Tehran pursuing its nuclear energy
program. "Superpowers cannot prevent us from owning this energy."
The United States, which has a strong military presence in the Gulf,
accuses Iran of wanting to produce nuclear weapons and has sought
tougher U.N. sanctions against Tehran. Iran says it wants only to
generate electricity to allow more oil exports.
Using stronger language than on Sunday when he called for U.S. troops
to leave the region, Ahmadinejad said Gulf countries should "get rid
of" foreign forces, which he blamed for insecurity in the region.
"We in the Persian Gulf are faced by difficulties and enemies," he
said. "They claim lack of security is the reason for their presence
(but) the problem is the intervention of foreign powers."
Tension between the United States and Iran has raised regional fears
of a possible military confrontation that could hit Gulf economies and
threaten vital oil exports. Washington has said it is committed to
diplomacy but will not rule out the "military option".
CHENEY VISIT
Ahmadinejad said Iran had agreed to talk to the United States about
Iraq to help the Iraqi people. The White House said on Sunday that
U.S. and Iranian officials would meet in the next few weeks in Baghdad
about security in Iraq.
"They know that their plans have failed in Iraq, their vision is
wrong. As long as you are plotting against the Iraqi people, failure
will be there day after day," said Ahmadinejad.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, flying to Moscow after talks
with regional leaders, said there was agreement on a need to stop a
flow of arms and fighters across borders to insurgents in Iraq.
Ahmadinejad was speaking during a trip to the UAE, an ally of
Washington, just days after a visit by U.S. Vice President *****
Cheney.
Cheney met officials from the UAE and its larger neighbor Saudi Arabia
to discuss issues including Iran, which he has described as a major
concern to Sunni Arab states.
Dubai-based analyst Mustafa Alani said Tehran was trying to forge
regional cooperation around joint interests and to push for an end to
foreign troops in the region, a demand that Arab Gulf states would not
support.
"The disappearance of the Americans in the region will make Iran
emerge as a super regional power, this is a demand linked to their
(Iranians) strategic ambitions," he said. "But they (Arab states) need
foreign support in the region because there is a deep mistrust in the
Iranians."
The UAE, which with its Gulf Arab neighbors has expressed concern
about Tehran's nuclear plans, on Sunday voiced support for a moderate
approach to Iran's crisis with the West.
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