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Iran warns of missile strike

Britain, U.S. differ on military option

LONDON: Senior Iranian officials further raised tensions with the West on Saturday, implicitly warning that Teheran would use missiles to strike Israel or Western forces stationed in the Gulf if attacked.

The statements came as world leaders met at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, with West Asia high on the agenda. The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has pressed ahead with a controversial nuclear programme since his election last year.

No consensus

"The world knows Iran has a ballistic missile power with a range of 2,000 km," General Yahya Rahim Safavi said on state-run television. "We have no intention to invade any country [but] we will take effective defence measures if attacked."

Though world leaders agreed that strong measures were necessary to prevent Iran gaining nuclear weapon capacity, there was little consensus this weekend as to what those measures should be. Jack Straw, the British Foreign Secretary, on Saturday conceded that Britain and the U.S. were divided over using military force.

Responding to comments by U.S. politicians stressing the "leverage" the military option allowed, Mr. Straw said such action was not under discussion. "I understand that's the American position. Our position is different... There isn't a military option. And no one is talking about it." Britain, along with most E.U. states, has been pursuing a policy of "engagement" with the Iranians. Mr. Straw was speaking ahead of talks with Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Teheran's continuing defiance of the international pressure has led to growing pressure to refer Iran to the U.N. Such calls became more urgent after Iran said it was resuming uranium enrichment.

— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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