Leader- Iran's right to carry out preemptive action to defend its national security

Iran leaders disagree on who are their enemies, what they are planning

U.S. officials said that Iranian political and military leaders appear divided on the extent of the threat posed to Tehran. Iranian leaders divided on threat from U.S., Israel

Iranian political leaders have sought to play down a recent Israel military exercise over the Mediterranean that were viewed as preparation for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Iranian military and paramilitary leaders, by contrast, continue to sound the alarm as though military action against Iran was imminent.

Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Mohammad Ali Ja'fari said June 28 that Iran "must take the possibility of America putting its military threat into action more seriously." He then added: "Of course, I am not trying to say that military action is definite."

Other IRGC officers stated that recent Iranian missile test firings and naval exercises, codenamed Noble Prophet 3, were held in part due to perceived threats from the U.S. and Israel.

Several Iranian political leaders, by contrast, used standard rhetoric in recent statements that sought to minimize the potential for a war, in an apparent attempt to dispel worries among the population.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad stated in a July 8 speech that reports of possible U.S. or Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were "funny jokes." He asserted that the U.S. political, economic and military situation precluded an attack.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki stated on July 4 that both the United States and Israel were not capable politically of attacking Iran and would not "risk the craziness" of a strike.

Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, a key Iranian leader, stated June 29 that military threats were "psychological warfare." He warned that Israel or "its protectors" would "regret" attacking Iran, though he deemed it "unlikely" that Israel would commit "such a big mistake.

However, both military and political leaders have warned in recent weeks that Iran would respond forcefully to any attacks and also hinted that Tehran would use surrogate groups in the region and around the world to carry out attacks, a veiled reference to the likely use of terrorism by the Lebanese based Hezbollah terrorist group. Jafari told Iranian state television recently that "if the Zionist regime were to undertake the slightest action against our interests, either on its own or with America, all the areas under the control of the Zionist regime would very soon become insecure." He then warned "Muslim revolutionaries" throughout the Middle East would feel a "divine obligation to respond and confront such an attack," and that Iran would respond "quickly" and "beyond imagination."

Maj. Gen. Hassan Firuzabadi, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, warned on July 5 that Iran would "close down" the Strait of Hormuz if attacked.

The strategic waterway is used by tankers to supply between 20 and 40 percent of the world's oil.

One prominent Iranian, though not a member of the Tehran government, also has raised the possibility that Iran will take preemptive military action against either Israel or the United States. Mohammad Nabi Habibi, secretary general of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party, stated July 1 that he has urged the foreign ministry to "prepare international organizations to understand Iran's right to carry out preemptive action to defend its national security."

"The 33-day war (2006 Israel-Hezbollah war) showed that a preemptive attack is the best response to any kind of mischief," Habibi said.