Iran Minister Says Israel in No Position to Attack

Mottaki said Israel was still dealing with the consequences of its 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday he did not believe Israel was in a position to attack the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme.

"They know full well what the consequences of such an act would be," Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki told reporters.

He was speaking a day after the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying Iran would impose controls on shipping in the Gulf oil route if Iran was attacked and warned regional states of reprisals if they took part.

Speculation about a possible attack on Iran has risen since a U.S. newspaper reported this month that Israel had practiced such a strike.

Mottaki said Israel was dealing with the consequences of its 2006 war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and was suffering a "crisis of deepening illegitimacy" in the Middle East region.

"That's why we do not see the Zionist regime in a situation in which they would want to engage in such an adventurism," he said when asked about the possibility of an Israeli attack.

Fear of an escalation in the standoff between the West and Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, have been one factor pushing oil prices to record highs. Crude hit a record level on international markets near $143 a barrel on Friday.

Analysts say Iran could use unconventional tactics, such as deploying small craft to attack ships, or using allies in the area to strike at U.S. or Israeli interests.

Iran's Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said reports of a possible strike were part of the "psychological warfare" waged by the West against Iran, aimed at diverting attention from "domestic failures" in the United States and Israel.

The Islamic Republic says its nuclear programme is peaceful and aimed at generating electricity. But the West and Israel fear Iran is seeking to build atomic bombs. Israel is believed to be the only Middle Eastern state with nuclear arms.

Washington has said it wants diplomacy to end the nuclear row but has not ruled out military action should that fail.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana handed Iran an offer on June 14 of trade and other benefits proposed by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France to try to end the row.

Iran has ruled out suspending sensitive nuclear work in exchange for such economic incentives, but says it will review the package and give a response.

"Right now we are in the final stage of reviewing the package," Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh-Attar was quoted as saying on state television's website, without elaborating.