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Iran Commander Offers Detail on Attack Retaliation

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If the United States attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran may retaliate by launching missile strikes against U.S. military bases in the region or by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's petroleum passes, the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned at a news conference on Sunday.

If the United States attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities, Tehran may retaliate by launching missile strikes against U.S. military bases in the region or by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's petroleum passes, the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned at a news conference on Sunday.

If Israel attacks on its own, Iranian missile strikes will ensure that “nothing will remain” of the Jewish state, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said.

“Given Israel’s small land area and its vulnerability to a massive volume of Iran’s missiles, I don’t think any spot in Israel will remain safe,” Jafari said.

He also said the counterattack would begin near the Israeli border, in an apparent reference to militant groups in Gaza and Lebanon who possess rocket arsenals that can hit Israel.

But Jafari said he does not expect Israel to attack on its own. Instead, U.S. forces would most likely lead a strike, in which case Iran would overwhelm U.S. missile defense forces by launching a massive retaliatory attack, he said.

The U.S. is leading a naval exercise with Western and Arab allies in the Persian Gulf scheduled to begin next week.

The Obama administration has vowed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon and has left open the possibility of a strike on its nuclear facilities.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.

 

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