29 Sep 2009

Israel will be destroyed if nuclear facilities attacked - Iran

12:25 pm on 29 September 2009

Iran has warned it will destroy Israel will be destroyed if it attacks Tehran's nuclear facilities.

The ABC reports Iran has conducted a series of more missile tests, involving medium range missiles capable of striking Israel.

Israel has repeatedly expressed fear at Iran's nuclear ambitions and refused to rule out a pre-emptive military strike.

But Iran's Defence Minister Ahmed Vahidi has warned of Israel's demise if it does, saying the result would be "the Zionist regime's last breath".

Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are entirely peaceful but Western nations are threatening Tehran with tougher sanctions if it does not open the programme to international scrutiny.

The Iranian Revoltionary Guard saying the tests were part of week-long exercises to mark the end of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

However, the ABC reports the tests were on the most sacred day in the Jewish Calendar, Yom Kippur.