Iran not to invade any country, but to encounter aggression

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that based on Islamic principles Iran has no aggressive intents but will never back down in face of any aggression, Press TV reported. Speaking at a military base in the city of Bojnourd in the northwestern North Khorasan province, Khamenei described the Iranian armed forces as the nation's source of security and protection against the aggressive illusions of the enemies. "What motivates the hegemonic powers to wage war is the sale of arms and cultivation of military industries... and the only factor that suppresses such war-waging impulse of power-seekers is the general readiness of the (Iranian) nation and defensive preparedness of the armed forces," Khamenei was quoted as saying. Today the Iranian nation, particularly its youth, feel generally readier than ever before and the armed forces also remain better prepared and more capable than the past, said Khamenei. The West and Israel suspect that the Iranian nuclear program, which the officials of the Islamic republic insists is "peaceful," may have military dimensions. The United States and Israel have not ruled out the possibility of striking Iran's nuclear facilities. The Islamic republic has threatened that it will retaliate if its nuclear establishments are hit. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Israeli regime would commit suicide if it launches a military attack against the Islamic republic, Press TV reported Wednesday. "I think that all the wise people of the world know that such a move (of attacking Iran) by this regime (of Israel) is tantamount to an absolute suicide," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. On Wednesday, Khamenei downplayed the Western sanctions against the Islamic republic, saying that the Iranian nation will overcome problems as always, Press TV reported. Khamenei stressed that the Iranian nation will emerge victorious in the battle as it has overcome much bigger problems over the past decades. The UN Security Council imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran between 2006 and 2010 over its refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which Western countries suspect could be used to develop nuclear weapons. The United States and the European Union (EU) have imposed and expanded sanctions toward Iran over the years despite Tehran's insistence on the peaceful nature of its nuclear drive. The EU imposed an embargo on Iran's oil export on July 1 and has threatened to put further sanctions on Iran's natural gas exports.