Iran tests air defence for nuclear plants

Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defence war games aimed at protecting the country's nuclear facilities against any possible attack, state television reported.

It said the five-day drill will cover an area a third of the size of Iran and spread across the central, western and southern parts of the country.

Gen. Ahmad Mighani, head of an air force unit that deals with threats to Iran's air space, said Saturday the war games would cover regions where Iran's nuclear facilities are located.

The drill involves both Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, the paramilitary Basij forces affiliated with the guard, andarmy units.

The United States and its European allies accuse Iran of embarking on a nuclear weapons program. Iran denies the charge and insists the program is only for peaceful purposes.

Israel has not ruled out military action to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The commander of the Revolutionary Guard's air force, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, meanwhile sought to play down the significance of Israel's threats against his country, saying they amounted to psychological warfare.

"We are sure they are not able to do anything against us since they can not predict our reaction," Hajizadeh was quoted Sunday on the Guard's official Web site, Sephahnews.

"If their fighter planes could escape from Iran's air defence system, their bases will be hit by our devastating surface-to-surface missiles before they land," he said.

Also on Sunday, Iran's defence minister, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, said Iran planned to pursue designing and producing its own air defence missiles, according to the official IRNA news agency.

His comments were apparently in response to the delay in the delivery from Russia of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, a key component of Iran's air defence.

Iran complains that the delay is apparently the result of Israeli and U.S. pressure. Israel and the United States have opposed the missile deal out of fear Iran could use the system to significantly boost air defences at its nuclear sites.