Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Iran will respond strongly to attacks

Iran's supreme leader warned Israel and the US that Tehran will respond strongly if its arch-enemies conduct a military strike against Iran over the country's controversial nuclear program. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, "We are not a nation to sit back idle and watch the materialistic, corrupted and rotten powers threaten the strong and dignified Iranian nation. We will threaten in return for threats. Anybody who takes up the idea of an attack on Iran, should get ready to receive a strong slap and an iron fist by the Iranian nation, Army, Revolutionary Guards, Basij forces and above all the Iranian nation." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments come two days after the UN atomic agency released a report saying Iran is suspected of conducting secret nuclear experiments. The report was the International Atomic Energy Agency's most unequivocal yet in suggesting Iran is using a peaceful cover to produce atomic weapons. But Iran insists it is only pursuing nuclear energy. Four rounds of UN sanctions have not halted Iran's nuclear program. On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad slammed the IAEA report, saying Tehran would not retreat "an iota" from its nuclear program.