Iran claims rivals are gearing up for attack

IRAN accused Israel and the United States of seeking world support for a military strike on its nuclear facilities, which Russia warned yesterday would be “a very serious mistake”.

The spike in tension comes ahead of the release this week of a report into Iran’s nuclear programme by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which diplomats say will focus on the Islamic republic’s alleged efforts to put fissile material in a warhead and developing missiles.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in an interview with Egypt’s Al-Akhbar newspaper published yesterday, warned against a military attack on Iran and again insisted Tehran’s atomic programme was for peaceful purposes only.