• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Asefi: Israel threat to attack Iran`s nuclear facilities sounds like a joke

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Sept 5, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi 
here Sunday termed the recent Israeli threat to attack Iran`s nuclear 
facilities as nothing but a "war of nerves" and a "joke". 
Addressing reporters at his weekly press briefing, Asefi said 
that the Zionist regime "has a precise assessment of our ability and 
and its own; therefore, they know that such an action (aggression 
against Iran`s nuclear facilities) would mean receiving an irreparable
response" from the Iranian side. 
As for the recent comments of the Canadian foreign minister on 
the death of the Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, the spokesman 
said that this was "a matter of surprise as Kazemi`s case has 
not been closed yet and is still under examination in the court of 
appeal." 
"We wonder," Asefi said,"based on what documents, he has made 
such a hasty comments" while the case of Kazemi`s death was an issue 
completely related to Iran. 
He further noted that Kazemi`s case has even impressed the 
government to an extent that President Mohammad Khatami has ordered a 
special committee to be set up to cast light on all aspects of the 
case. 
Stressing that the Iranian officials are "deeply sorry for 
her death and that they were following up her case," Asefi noted that 
there was no need for the Canadians "to shed crocodile tears." 
Kazemi was pronounced dead in July 2003 a few days after she was 
arrested while illegally taking pictures from the Evin prison north of
capital Tehran during a period of students unrest. 
Responding to a question on the alleged presence of an Al-Qaeda 
member in Iran (named Sharif al-Mesri) as claimed recently by a 
Pakistani military source, the spokesman said it seemed that the 
source has not been informed that the aforesaid-said al-Qaeda member 
"has been living in Pakistan for more than three years and that he had
left Iran before the Sept 11, 2001 events." 
"He has repeatedly tried to enter Iran but was deterred each 
time from doing so by the Iranian forces," Asefi said adding "so (the 
claim of) his presence in Iran during recent days is completely 
baseless because it is more than three years that he has left the 
country." 
On recent comments of the US presidential candidates (George 
Bush and John Kerry) about Iran, Asefi said that they were just 
parts of their elections propaganda. 
"In order to make a proper response" to their comments, argued the
spokesman, "We should wait and see which of them would be the next 
president of the United States and what policy he would follow in 
practice towards Iran." 
As for a recent resolution prepared by the US and a number of the 
European countries calling for the withdrawal of the Syrian forces 
from Lebanon, Asefi said that the resolution called for "withdrawal of
foreign forces from Lebanon and I think that the US should put the 
pressure more on the Zionist regime to pull its forces back from 
the country." 
As for the forthcoming elections in Lebanon, Asefi said that it 
was an internal issue of that country which should be held based on 
their own mechanism. 
Responding to a question on the Zionist regime`s policies, Asefi 
noted that the Israelis follow a double standard policy. On the one 
hand, he added, they make a hue and cry, and on the other they follow 
their aggressive policies towards the Palestinians by taking 
dvantage of the diversion of world public opinion to other issues such
as crises in Iraqi, Afghanistan or Somalia. 
1394/1412