Iran Threatens to Send U.S. Allies 'Into Hell'

May 21, 2009 10:53 a.m. EST

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad has threatened to squash any country that is used as a launching pad for an attack on Iran.

"Today, Iran has the power to turn any base that fires a bullet at Iran into hell," Ahmadi Nejad said in a speech on Wednesday. "Today we declare that no country has the power to threaten Iran."

The message was interpreted as an explicit threat to Iran's neighbors, many of which host U.S. military bases or directly cooperate with the U.S. army, and was delivered after Iran's successful test of a missile capable of striking Israel, most Arab nations and parts of Europe.

"If any Arab country supports America to attack Iran directly they will be attacked," Meir Javedanfar, director of The Middle East Economic and Political Analysis Company and co-author of the book, The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad and the State of Iran, told The Media Line. "None of these countries are going to want to take part."

The solid-fuel Sejil-2 missile has a range of 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) and, according to Ahmadi Nejad, "landed exactly on target." The U.S. confirmed the missile test was successful, describing it as "significant." Solid fuel missiles are mobile, easily hidden and capable of being fired at short notice.

"This shows that Iranian missile technology is making progress," Javedanfar added. "Unlike liquid fuel, solid fuel missiles can be stored away for a long time and therefore the detection is more difficult."

The launch comes two days after U.S. President Barack Obama threatened stronger international sanctions on Iran and indicated that he was giving negotiations with Iran until the end of the year.

Ahmadi Nejad said the missile test would send a message to the West that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is running the show," promising that "in the near future we will launch bigger rockets with bigger reach."

Israel, the U.S. and other Western powers believe Iran is developing a clandestine nuclear weapons program, a charge Iran vehemently denies.

Regardless of Iran's intentions, the Islamic Republic seems to have mastered at least two of the three steps needed to effectively launch a nuclear weapon. The first step is developing a medium-range rocket capable of striking Israel and Arab nations allied with the West. Iran's missile test yesterday, along with a series of previous similar tests, confirms Iran's capacity in this regard.

The second step is to acquire highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium, a process Iran has already begun at its Natanz nuclear facility.

Iran's progress on the final step, developing a warhead capable of being attached to the missile, remains unclear. Western governments believe Iran halted its warhead research program in 2003, but there is little consensus among intelligence agencies on the issue.

Israel, most directly threatened by a potential Iranian nuclear program, has been vociferous in calling for limiting negotiations with Iran and has refused to rule out taking military action against the country.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak responded to Iran's missile launch as "additional proof of the need to form a plan to cope with the Iranian challenge."

Last week, Obama relayed a message to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu calling on Israel not to attack Iran.

The message, reportedly passed between senior officials of both countries, confirms strong U.S. concern that Israel may unilaterally attack Iran's nuclear apparatus.

There have been various reports that Obama and Netanyahu agreed during their meeting in Washington earlier this week to form a high-level working group to share intelligence on Iran's nuclear program.

A senior European official, quoted anonymously by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Wednesday, said an Israeli strike on Iran was "in the air" and would be a likely result of the failure of sanctions. The official indicated that European nations were sympathetic to Israel's fear that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel, and as such would not elicit "enormous negative reactions" should Israel attack Iran.

With Iranian presidential elections scheduled for next month, the timing of the missile test and Ahmadi Nejad's comments seem intended both as a threat to Israel and the U.S.'s Arab allies as well as an effort by Ahmadi Nejad to position himself as more steadfast on defense than his electoral opponents. "Unfortunately, today there are some people who think that compromise with enemies will remove threats," the president said in the speech. "But experience has shown that whenever Iran softens its stance its enemies are emboldened."

"He can't talk about the economy because he's made it worse; he can't talk about advancements made in the fight against drugs because now the problem is more severe," Javedanfar said. "The only thing he can show is Iran's defense industry and Iran's nuclear program... he's playing the only cards he has available to him."

The Iranian Interior Ministry officially confirmed the eligibility of four candidates on Wednesday, including Ahmadi Nejad and his principal challenger, reformist candidate and former prime minister Mir Hussein Moussavi.

Ahmadi Nejad and Moussavi are set to face off in a televised debate on June 4.

The Iranian president was shown on state television waving to a huge crowd showering him with confetti.