'Iran ready to destabilize Gulf'

Revolutionary Guard deputy threatens harsh response to US attack.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Iranian Revolutionary Guards (photo credit: AP)
Iranian Revolutionary Guards
(photo credit: AP)
Iran will make the Persian Gulf a war zone unsafe for all nations if the US attempts to attack its nuclear program, deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards Yadollah Javani told the official IRNA news agency on Sunday.
"If the American make the slightest mistake, the security of the region will be endangered. Security in the Persian Gulf should be for all or none," Javani was quoted as saying to IRNA by AFP.  He added," We will defend ourselves if American or Israel resort to any hostile measures against our vital values."
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Javani's statements came after the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Sunday that the US military has a plan to attack Iran, although he added that he thought a strike was probably a bad idea.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the highest-ranking US military officer, has often warned that a military strike on Iran would have serious and unpredictable ripple effects around the Middle East. At the same time, he said the risk of Iran developing a nuclear weapon was unacceptable.
Mullen would not say which risk he thought was worse. But he told NBC television program "Meet The Press" that a military strike remains an option if need be.
He added that, should it come to that, the military has a plan at hand. He didn't elaborate further.
Mullen said very directly in his February visit to Israel that he opposed Iran's acquisition of a nuclear capability. However, he also warned Israel tellingly of the “unintended consequences” of a military strike.
During a press conference at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, Mullen said, “From a policy standpoint, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, [or] nuclear capability.”
He added, “I’ve also been clear, them getting a weapon and/or the outbreak of a conflict would be a big, big problem for all of us. And I worry a great deal about the unintended consequences of a strike, that are pretty hard to be specific about in a pretty volatile region that’s pretty hard to predict.”
Yaakov Lappin and Haviv  Rettig Gur contributed to this report.