Iran Warns Against Attacks On Nuclear Facilities

7 July 2004 -- Iran's minister of defense and armed forces logistics, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, has warned that the Islamic republic will fiercely retaliate and abandon its commitments to the UN atomic watchdog agency if its nuclear installations are attacked.

Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as saying that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "holds every detail" on Iran's nuclear program.

He said the United States and the other "enemies" of Iran must know that Tehran will respond to any military action "with all our force."

The IAEA is currently investigating Iran's nuclear ambitions, and has been critical of Tehran's level of cooperation. The United States accuses Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons.

(AFP)