Iran tells UN it will hit back at any attack

Iran warned it would "not hesitate" to hit back following a foreign strike on its soil in a formal complaint to the United Nations over a warning from French President Nicolas Sarkozy, AFP reported.

Iran's UN ambassador said in a letter to UN leaders that his country would "not hesitate to act in self-defense to respond to any attack against the Iranian nation."

Iran would "take appropriate defensive measures to protect itself," ambassador Mohammad Khazaee told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council, of which France is one of the five permanent members.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran expresses its deep concern over, and strong condemnation of such a provocative, unwarranted and irresponsible statement against Iran," Khazaee said.

Sarkozy had made "inflammatory remarks and baseless allegations," the envoy added.

Sarkozy said last week that Iran's "military, nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs."

The French leader has been one of the most outspoken critics of Iran in the western alliance, which has accused Iran of seeking a nuclear bomb.

In an August 31 speech to French ambassadors, Sarkozy did not say which country might carry out the preventive attack.

But he said "Iran refuses to negotiate seriously" and declared that France would work with its allies to build support for tougher international sanctions. The UN Security Council has already passed four rounds of sanctions against Iran over its enrichment program.


/Trend/