A former commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards says Tehran has dug mass graves in which to bury U.S. troops in case of any U.S. attack on the country.
The digging of the graves appears to be a show of bravado after the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said last week that the U.S. military has a contingency plan to attack Iran, although he thinks a military strike is probably a bad idea.
The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is geared merely toward generating electricity, not weapons.
General Hossein Kanani Moghadam, who was the Guards' deputy commander during the 1980s, said graves have been dug in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan Province, where Iran buried Iraqi soldiers killed during the 1980-88 war with Iraq.
The digging of the graves was first reported earlier this week by Iran's semi-official news agency, Fars.
No More Dollar, Euro Sales
Meanwhile, local media report that a senior Iranian official has said the Islamic republic will stop selling exports for U.S. dollars and euros in retribution for a fresh wave of sanctions imposed on Iran by the United Nations.
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi was quoted as saying in Iran's leading economic daily, "Doniye-e Ektesad," that the dollar and euro are "filthy" and will be replaced with the Iranian rial and "all other currencies of the countries that accept to cooperate with us."
The UN Security Council in July imposed a fourth round of sanctions over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Rahimi also said Iran will start to limit its purchases from the European Union. He did not say how or when the currency restrictions would go into effect.
compiled from agency reports
The digging of the graves appears to be a show of bravado after the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said last week that the U.S. military has a contingency plan to attack Iran, although he thinks a military strike is probably a bad idea.
The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is geared merely toward generating electricity, not weapons.
General Hossein Kanani Moghadam, who was the Guards' deputy commander during the 1980s, said graves have been dug in Iran's southwestern Khuzestan Province, where Iran buried Iraqi soldiers killed during the 1980-88 war with Iraq.
The digging of the graves was first reported earlier this week by Iran's semi-official news agency, Fars.
No More Dollar, Euro Sales
Meanwhile, local media report that a senior Iranian official has said the Islamic republic will stop selling exports for U.S. dollars and euros in retribution for a fresh wave of sanctions imposed on Iran by the United Nations.
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi was quoted as saying in Iran's leading economic daily, "Doniye-e Ektesad," that the dollar and euro are "filthy" and will be replaced with the Iranian rial and "all other currencies of the countries that accept to cooperate with us."
The UN Security Council in July imposed a fourth round of sanctions over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Rahimi also said Iran will start to limit its purchases from the European Union. He did not say how or when the currency restrictions would go into effect.
compiled from agency reports