(AP) TEHRAN, Iran - The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said Saturday that his country has the capability to strike Israel's nuclear facilities and wouldn't be afraid to do so if it was attacked.
"If the Israeli entity engages in any kind of attack on Iran, we have the capability to strike all targets in occupied Palestine," General Mohammad Ali Jafari told the Arabic-language channel, al-Alam.
"There is nothing stopping us from targeting Israel's nuclear sites and this will definitely happen if we are attacked. Our rockets have the precision capabilities to target all the Israeli nuclear sites," he said, according to the channel's Web site.
Jafari has made similar comments in the past as part of the ongoing war of words between Israel and Iran. Last March, Jafari warned Israel that its nuclear facilities are within range of Iranian missiles and Iran would strike back if attacked.
Israel, which is itself believed to possess a nuclear arsenal, has warned that it could attack Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear program, which Israel and the U.S. suspect is a cover for weapons production.
Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is among those taking a tough line and considered likely to keep open the option of a military strike.
Iran's Shahab-3 missiles have a range of up to 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers), putting Israel within striking distance. Iran has said it has also increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling.
Tehran denies any aim to make nuclear weapons and says its atomic program is only for generating power and other peaceful purposes.