The Middle East appeared to be sliding further towards violent conflict yesterday when an international conference in Tehran declared that Israel "has no right of existence" and Iran promised financial assistance to the beleaguered Hamas-led Palestinian government, writes Lara Marlowe
The head of Iran's revolutionary guards threatened US forces if Washington attacks, while former and current US officials warned against taking military action or imposing economic sanctions.
Foreign minister Manoushehr Mottaki said Tehran would give $50 million (€41 million) to the Hamas government which took office in March. It is not clear whether the money is a once-off gift, or how it will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority. Banks are reluctant to handle funds for the authority out of fear of US or Israeli retaliation. The Palestinian Authority cannot meet its wage bill and is $1.3 billion (€1.1 billion) in debt.
The Iranian gesture will act as a red flag to Israel and the US, who were enraged by Iran's announcement last week that it had "become a nuclear state" by enriching a small amount of uranium for eventual use as fuel in nuclear power reactors.
Representatives of the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany are to meet in Moscow tomorrow. The US wants to discuss economic sanctions and restricting travel by Iranian officials, but Russia and China have resisted such moves.
Speaking at the international conference for the support of Palestine here, Gen Rahim Safavi, the head of the Iranian revolutionary guards, said his country had been preparing for a US military strike for two years. "The Americans know better than anyone that their troops in the region and in Iraq are vulnerable," Gen Safavi said. "The Middle East is on a big barrel of explosives, and any attack on Iran will lead to its explosion and foreign forces in the region will be most hurt by it."
Gen Safavi's warning was similar to that contained in an opinion piece published by two former high-ranking officials in the New York Times yesterday.
Richard Clarke, the former head of counter-terrorism at the White House, and Steven Simon, formerly of the State Department and National Security Council, said a US attack on Iran could hurt US interests even more than the war in Iraq.