Iran threatens to hit Turkey if US, Israel attack

Iran will target NATOs missile defense installations in Turkey if the US or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic, a senior commander of Irans powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saturday.Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards aerospace division, said the warning is part of a new defense strategy to counter what he described as an increase in threats from the US and Israel.Tensions have been rising between Iran and the West since the release of a report earlier this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency that said for the first time that Tehran was suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose was the development of nuclear arms.The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of trying to produce atomic weapons, and Israel, which views Tehran as an existential threat, has warned of a possible strike on Irans nuclear program. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.Should we be threatened, we will target NATOs missile defense shield in Turkey and then hit the next targets, the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.Tehran says NATOs early warning radar station in Turkey is meant to protect Israel against Iranian missile attacks if a war breaks out with the Jewish state. Ankara agreed to host the radar in September as part of NATOs missile defense system aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from neighboring Iran.