Senior lawmaker: Iran's strong response to possible Israeli attack

A prominent Iranian legislator dismissed the Israeli regime's ability to wage a military attack on Iran, but warned that Iran's response to an Israeli aggression would be "heavy" and "beyond the imagination of Israelis"."Zionists should know that their slightest action would be reciprocated with a heavy reprisal at all levels and beyond their imagination," member of the Iranian Parliament Alireza Zakani told FNA on Tuesday. Meantime, he said that Israeli officials are too weak to threaten Iran. "If they dare to carry out their threat, they will burn in the fire of the rage of the Iranian and Muslim nations," he warned. On November 4, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that an attack on Iran was becoming increasingly more likely. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israel's parliament (Knesset) on October 31 in an effort to garner support for a military attack on Iran over its nuclear program. Supported by Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu argued that Israel should proceed with efforts to encourage the West to exert more economic and political pressure on Iran. He also emphasized that any action against Iran should be carried out in full coordination with the United States. Speculation that Israel could also bomb Iran mounted after a big Israeli air drill three years ago. In the first week of June 2008, 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, which was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear installations. Israel and its close ally the United States accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads. Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. Iran has warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv. The United States has always stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran's progress in the field of nuclear technology. Iran has warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, it will target 32 American bases in the Middle-East and close the strategic Strait of Hormoz. An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway.