General: Iran ready to teach U.S. lesson

TEHRAN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi has said that his country's armed forces are ready to teach the United States a lesson if it crosses the line, Iran's state-run Press TV channel reported on Saturday.

"America's enmity towards Iran stems from the fact that they know Iran's revolutionary ideology is against their quest for domination," Firouzabadi was quoted as saying in the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad.

The senior Iranian general reiterated that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and challenged the United States to prove its accusation that Tehran may be using civilian program as a cover to develop atomic weapons.

"We say that our nuclear energy is for peaceful purposes and we have proven it," Firouzabadi said. "Those who allege that Iran is a threat have to prove their claims."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has always endangered the illegitimate accumulation of wealth by superpowers," he added.

The diplomatic standoff between Iran and the West began almost six years ago over suspicions that Tehran's nuclear work is a cover for an atomic weapons program.

So far, the UN Security Council has adopted two resolutions, one in December 2006 and the other in March 2007, to force Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and give up its nuclear programs.

MOSCOW, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran has no military purposes with its recent rocket test launch, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Gholamreza Ansari said here on Friday.

"We do not pursue military goals within our space research," the diplomat said. Full story

MOSCOW, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Moscow is concerned about Tehran's tests of a Kavosghar-1 (Explorer-1) rocket, launched into space on Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said on Wednesday.

"Any movements in the area of creating such potential arms of course make others concerned, and moreover make one suspect that Iran could possibly create nuclear arms," Losyukov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. Full story

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The United States described on Monday Iran's launching a rocket into space as "unfortunate," which, the White House said, will isolate the Islamic republic from the international community.

"I saw this morning that Iran, again, tested a ballistic missile. It's unfortunate that they continue to do that because it further isolates the country from the rest of the world," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Full story

TEHRAN, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Tuesday dismissed the U.S. concern over its drive to develop space technology, one day after Washington described the Islamic Republic's launch of a rocket into space as "unfortunate."

"The government is responsible for progress and development of the country and is not responsible for others' concern," Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham told his weekly press conference. Full story

TEHRAN, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Iran launched its first home-built space research center on Monday in Tehran in presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The launch of the first space research unit would be great stride to serve the mankind and would lead to Iran's exaltation and progress," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. Full story