Israel and US won't attack, says Iran's FM

NEW YORK - Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki does not believe Israel or the US would launch a military strike against the Islamic Republic over it’s nuclear programme, but said any offensive action by Tel Aviv would be seen as an attack by the United States.

Asked in an interview with Newsweek magazine if he believed there would an Israeli or US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, Mottaki answered flatly: “No.” He didn’t elaborate.

Questioned if there were such an attack by Israel, would Iran regard it as an attack by the United States, he replied, “In the Middle East, [no one] makes a distinction between the US and Israel.” Asked why Iran is calling for wiping out Israel from the map of the earth, Mottaki said his country does not recognise Israel.

Reiterating its stand to continue its uranium enrichment programme, he said, ‘What we are doing is completely legal,’ emphasising that negotiations are the only way to arrive at mutually acceptable solution to the issue.

Mottaki, however, welcomed the Bush administration’s decision to send its Under Secretary William Burns to attend recent talks between Tehran and European Union on nuclear issue saying as ‘the first realistic step’ by Washington.

“We welcomed the participation by Mr Burns in the Geneva talks. We feel that if this is the realistic approach taken by the US right now vis-a-vis the nuclear issue, they must continue with such efforts,” he added.