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TEHRAN - Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Thursday the Islamic Republic would target US interests around the world if it came under attack over its disputed nuclear programme.
His comments came as an Iranian naval commander said Revolutionary Guards had test fired missiles that could sink "big warships" in the Gulf, the waterway where a second US aircraft carrier is now heading. The White House said it did not see that as a direct assault on US ships.
Iran and the United States are locked in a war of words over Tehran's nuclear energy programme, which Washington says is being channelled into bomb-building, a charge Tehran denies.
"(Iran's) enemies know well that any aggression will lead to a reaction from all sides in the Iranian nation on the aggressors and their interests around the world," state television quoted Khamenei as saying.
Washington said the United States planned to stick to firm diplomacy, not go to war with the Islamic Republic.
"I've said it, the secretary of defence has said it, the president has said it: We're not invading Iran," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. "(Khamenei is) spinning a hypothetical about something that is not contemplated."
Iranian security chief Ali Larijani said on Wednesday he would hold negotiations with European officials at a February 9-11 conference in Germany, the first such contacts since UN sanctions were imposed on Iran in December over the nuclear row.
European diplomats said any talks were expected to be exploratory. They noted Iran was still rejecting a mandatory UN Security Council resolution demanding it stop enriching uranium to create trust.
Washington is pressing its European allies to take tougher measures against Iran including tightening trade sanctions and has called for tougher UN sanctions if Tehran fails to halt nuclear enrichment that could be used to produce weapons.
"We believe that no one will make such an unwise and wrong move (to attack Iran) that would endanger their country and interests," Khamenei said.
"Some say that the US president is not the type who acts based on calculations or thinks about the consequences of his action. But even these people can be brought to their senses."
US President George Bush denies any intent to invade Iran, despite ratcheting up the US military presence in the Gulf region.
"Khamenei from time to time makes these unprovoked statements and we would certainly hope they are not directed at the United States because US President George W. Bush has made it clear we have no intention of going to war with Iran," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the US National Security Council.
Iran says it will press ahead with its nuclear agenda. Diplomats say it has set up a new batch of more than 300 centrifuges, which enrich uranium for fuel or material for warheads, in a vast new underground plant at Natanz.
It already runs 350 experimental centrifuges above ground.
Iran says it will celebrate its atomic achievements as it marks the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on Sunday, stirring speculation it could announce progress in expanding enrichment in the so-called "industrial-scale" Natanz plant.
"What we mean by 'nuclear celebrations' is that we will show that the Iranian nation is supporting the nuclear issue," Larijani was quoted by the official daily Iran as saying.
The weekend security conference in Munich is expected to be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Asked about a possible meeting with Larijani, Solana said: "For the moment I have not agreed on anything as I don't know what time I'll be there and what time he will be there."
Larijani did not say whom he would meet or what he would discuss. He said he would not meet US officials - who refuse such contact before Iran suspends enrichment - and Washington agreed no contact was planned.
The UN sanctions block the transfer of sensitive nuclear material and know-how to Iran's nuclear programme. The resolution also gives Iran until February 21 to suspend enrichment, or risk harsher sanctions.
Amid mounting tension with Washington, Iran staged two days of war-games on Wednesday and Thursday involving air and naval units of the Revolutionary Guards.
- REUTERS
