Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Any Military Attack Against Iran Would Be Suicide

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: Any military attack against Iran would be considered 'suicide for the aggressor' - 2003-06-04. As tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate over various issues, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the religious leader of the Islamic Republic, has warned that any military attack against Iran would be 'suicide for the aggressor.' Khamenei spoke today to thousands of his supporters on the occasion of the fourteenth anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, stating that Iran does not seek war with any country. In his remarks at Khomeini's mausoleum in southern Tehran, Khamenei emphasized that the Iranian people would rise against any threat to the Islamic Republic. The crowd responded with chants of 'Death to America' and 'Our lives are sacrificed for the leader.' Recently, the U.S. accused Iran of harboring terrorists, interfering in Iraq's internal affairs, and pursuing a nuclear weapons program. Khamenei dismissed the U.S. accusations regarding the regime's harboring of terrorists within Iranian territory as 'shameless lies.' He also responded to U.S. warnings to the Iranian regime regarding interference in Iraq, stating that Iran is concerned about the U.S. occupation of Iraqi territory. Last week, President Bush stated that there is no reason for anyone to think that the U.S. intends to use military force against Iran, calling such reports 'pure speculation and rumor.'