US in no position to attack Iran, says Mottaki

UNITED NATIONS—Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Wednesday that the United States was in no position to launch a war against his country but warned that Tehran would retaliate if attacked.
Speaking to reporters on the margins of the UN General Assembly session, he said: “Our analysis is clear: the US (already embroiled in the Iraq war) is not in a position to impose another war in our region.” But Mottaki said Iran was ready to defend itself if attacked.
“We have informed two years ago the Americans what will happen if they make such mad decisions against our country and they know very well,” he added, without elaborating. The United States and its ally Israel have not ruled out taking military action to stop what they see as Iran’s covert bid to acquire nuclear weapons.
But despite the threat of a third round of UN Security Council sanctions over Tehran’s refusal to halt sensitive fuel work, Mottaki said his country saw no reason to give up what it considers as its right to the peaceful use of energy, including uranium enrichment.
He also said that Tehran had sought to reassure its Gulf neighbors that the Iranian nuclear program was peaceful and not a threat to them. Mottaki also sought to clarify earlier comments that Iran would fill the vacuum created by a withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
“If foreign forces leave Iraq, which we do believe they have to leave, regional countries are in a position to protect stability in the region.”

—Agencies