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Israeli nuclear munitions within Iran's missile range: commander
TEHRAN (AFP) Aug 15, 2004
A senior commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said that all Israeli military and nuclear sites are now within the range of the Islamic Republic's missiles, a news agency reported Sunday.

"The entire Zionist territory including its nuclear establishments and atomic munitions are now within the range of Iran's advanced missiles," the students news agency ISNA quoted Yadollah Javani as saying.

Javani said neither the United States nor "the Zionist regime" will carry out their threats against Iran considering the high cost of a possible attack.

Such an attack "could only happen out of anger and stupidity, thus the Islamic regime officials must always maintain their promptness to tackle probable military threats," he added.

Iran on Wednesday tested an upgraded version of its conventional medium-range Shahab-3 missile, two weeks after Israel tested its Arrow II anti-missile system.

Tehran fears Israel could strike its controversial nuclear program, which Washington suspects is being used to covertly develop weapons.

The missile is considered the mainstay of Iran's military technology and portrayed as purely defensive and dissuasive, but specifically as a weapon against Israel.

In the July 28 test of Israel's Arrow II missile, the Jewish state made it clear the improved anti-missile system was aimed squarely at fending off any attack by arch-foe Iran.

The Revolutionary Guards, or Sepah-e Pasdaran, to whom the Shahab-3 was entrusted, exist in parallel to the regular armed forces. They also have their own naval and air forces, and are largely deployed to protect Iran's borders.

Israel refuses to confirm it has a nuclear arsenal but is estimated to possess some 200 warheads.

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