Iran: Israel meddling in our relations with UN

Iran's Foreign Ministry warned Israel on Sunday it would retaliate against any military attack targeting its nuclear facilities and accused Israel of trying to drive a wedge between Tehran and the United Nations'

nuclear watchdog.

''The Zionist regime is less than nothing to pose any kind of threat to Iran,'' ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said when questioned about recent comments made by Israeli officials voicing concern over Tehran's nuclear program.

Hosseini did not specify which Israeli threat he was referring to, but his statement came as Iran continues to defy international demands that it suspends uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or fissile material for a bomb.

The United States has said it will continue to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but has not ruled out military action as a way to halt Iran's nuclear enrichment, claiming it is using it as cover for weapons development - a charge Iranians deny.

Israel has said it views Iran as a strong threat, but most analysts think any Israeli military operation is unlikely at this point

Hosseini warned Israel not to consider military action. ''In case it does, it will be faced with unprecedented response from Iran,'' Hosseini said, without elaborating.

He said Israeli threats were geared at preventing a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear standoff.

''Israelis many times have raised such things in order to undermine cooperation between Iran and the (UN) International Atomic Energy Agency,'' he said.

In 1981, Israel bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussein from developing nuclear weapons. Iran said Wednesday it has stepped up uranium enrichment activities by fully running 3,000 centrifuges at its nuclear plant in the central city of Natanz. It would take some 54,000 centrifuges to fuel a reactor.