Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday brushed aside an Israeli test-firing a ballistic missile, saying that he was not worried about the development as he believes that the Jewish state would never dare attack his country.
Israel "lacks the courage to launch any attack against Iran, " said Ahmadinejad in an interview with the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV, in which he was asked about the long-range ballistic missile Israel claimed it successfully test-fired earlier in the day.
"The Zionist entity is aware that any attempt or strike will be confronted by a very strong response," added the Iranian president.
Israel on Thursday successfully tested a new long-range missile, senior defense officials said.
Ahmadinejad insisted in the interview that Iran is engaged in a peaceful nuclear energy program, refuting the U.S. and Israeli claim that Iran's program could be a pathway to nuclear weapons development.
The Iranian president also slashed at U.S. President George W. Bush's latest Middle East tour, saying that the U.S. leader sent a "message of confrontation" and tried to "sow the seeds of division" during his trip in the region.
Bush called arch-foe Iran "today the world's leading state sponsor of terror" at a speech in Abu Dhabi during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday.
During his visits in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Bush voiced concern over what he believes as "the real Iranian threats" against the pro-western Gulf states in light of Iran's ambitions on having nuclear technology and, in the long run, nuclear weapons.
In Saudi Arabia, Bush fervently asked for a coalition against Iran, through the support of "friendly" countries and a gesture of the Gulf countries and its closet ally, Israel.
In response, Ahmadinejad said in making such remarks, "President Bush sent a message to the Iranian people and all the nations worldwide" which "reflects his own conceptions".
"It is a message of rift, a message of sowing the seeds of division. It is a message of confrontation demeaning the dignity of mankind," denounced the Iranian president.
Source: Xinhua
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