Haaretz
Shvat 21, 5767
Iran's
intelligence minister said Thursday the government had detected a network
of U.S and Israeli spies, and detained a second of people who planned to
go abroad for espionage training, state television reported.
But
the minister, Gjholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, did not say any members of
the U.S.-Israeli network had been arrested, and nor did he say who the
would-be spies would have worked for.
The TV newscaster quoted
the minster as telling a group of clerics in the holy city of Qom, 120
kilometers south of Tehran, that the first group of spies were agents of
the CIA and Mossad espionage services.
"This group was detected and
they are in our intelligence net, he said of the spies," implying that
they were under surveillance.
The minister said the network had
been active along the Iranian border, but did not say which border. Iran
has frontiers with Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and
Turkmenistan.
Referring to the second group, he said the government
had detained some Iranians who planned to go abroad to attend a training
course in espionage.
He did not say how many people were detained
nor which country would have
trained and employed them.
The
minister's remarks came at a time of heightened tension between Iran and
the international community, led by the United States.
The UN
Security Council has imposed sanctions because of Iran's refusal to cease
uranium enrichment, and is due to consider strengthening later this
month.
Khamenei says Iran will target U.S. interests if
attacked
Earlier Thursday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei said on Thursday the Islamic Republic would target U.S. interests
around the world if it came under attack, state television
reported.
Iran and the United States are locked in a dispute over
Tehran's nuclear program, which Washington says is being used to build
atomic bombs. U.S. officials say they want diplomacy to end the standoff
but have not ruled out force if that fails.
"The enemies know well
that any aggression will lead to a reaction from all sides in the Iranian
nation on the aggressors and their interests around the world," Khamenei
was quoted as saying by state television.
"We believe that no one
will make such an unwise and wrong move (to attack Iran) that would
endanger their country and interests. Some say that the U.S. president is
not the type who acts based on calculations or thinks about the
consequences of his action. But even these people can be brought to their
senses," he said.
U.S. President George Bush has said he has no
intention of invading Iran, though he has pledged to step up pressure on
the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program and what Washington calls
Iran's meddling in Iraq.
Tehran insists its nuclear programme is
purely civilian and says it is not backing militants in
Iraq.
Earlier Thursday, Iran's state broadcaster reported that the
Revolutionary Guard test-fired missiles in wargames on Thursday which a
commander said could sink "big warships" in the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman
and the north of the Indian Ocean.
Iran is at loggerheads with the
United States over its disputed nuclear program and what Washington calls
its meddling in Iraq. The United States has ordered a second aircraft
carrier to the Gulf to step up pressure on Iran.
"These missiles,
with a maximum range of 350 km, can hit different kinds of big warships in
all of the Persian Gulf, all of the Sea of Oman and the north of the
Indian Ocean," senior Revolutionary Guards naval commander Ali Fadavi
said.
Fadavi was also quoted by the state broadcaster's Web site as
saying that the warhead of this missile had the capacity to sink "all
kinds of big warships."
State television reported that the missile
tests, staged on the second day of wargames by the Guards' naval and air
units, were "to show that Iran is able to confront any possible
threats."
The West accuses Iran of seeking to develop atomic
weapons, a charge Iran denies. Tehran also dismisses allegations that it
is backing militants in Iraq.
On Wednesday, Iran said it
successfully tested anti-aircraft missiles, which it received from
Russia.