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Ahmad Khatami, Iranian hard-line cleric, warned Israel Tuesday that Iran's missiles will land in Tel Aviv if it attacks Iran. (file)
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| By Associated Press August 15, 2006 |
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An Iranian cleric warned Israel Tuesday that Iran's 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile) missiles will land in Tel Aviv if the Jewish state attacks Iran, state-run television reported.
Ahmad Khatami, a mid-ranking mullah, said Israel should bear in mind its monthlong war with Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas before considering any threats against Iran.
Boasting that Hezbollah's 70-kilometer (42-mile) range missiles "turned Israel into a country of ghosts," Khatami declared that Israel would face dire consequences if it "makes an iota of aggression against Iran."
"They must fear the day (Iran's) 2,000-kilometer range missiles land in the heart of Tel Aviv," he said.
Khatami is a Friday prayer leader in Tehran and a member of the Assembly of Experts, a clerical panel that has the power to choose or dismiss Iran's top leader, but he is not considered a government official.
Tehran perceives international criticism of its nuclear program as carrying a potential threat of military action. The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until the end of August to halt its uranium enrichment activities.
Israel has remained in the background as the United States and several Western allies stepped up claims that Iran seeks to develop nuclear arms -- an allegation Iran denies. But Israel has made no secret that it takes a dim view of Tehran's nuclear aspirations.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for Israel to be destroyed.
Khatami was referring to an upgraded version of Iran's Shahab-3 missile, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and reaching Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East.
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