Iranian official warns that U.S. military attack would represent ‘strategic blunder’

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said Sunday a U.S. military strike against it would be a “strategic blunder” but brushed aside tough talk from Washington as psychological warfare rather than a real threat.

Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi called U.S. threats a bluff but warned that Washington would make a big mistake if it attacks Iran.

“The Americans are stupid, but not so much to make the same mistake they made in Tabas,” said Yunesi, referring to a failed U.S. military operation in 1980 to rescue hostages held in Iran. Yunesi was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

President Bush said last week his administration won’t exclude the possibility of using military force against Iran over its nuclear program, which the United States believes is aimed at producing weapons. Vice President Dick Cheney also said Thursday that Iran “is right at the top of the list” of world trouble spots.

Iran has denied allegations of a secret nuclear weapons program, saying its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes.

Secretary of State nominee Condoleezza Rice made clear during her confirmation hearings last week that American differences with Iran go well beyond its nuclear program, saying it is “really hard to find common ground with a government that thinks Israel should be extinguished.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi responded Sunday, saying Iran “has always said that Tel Aviv decides U.S. policies and that the Zionist lobby is very powerful in the United States.”