WORLD> Middle East
Military official: Iran digging 320,000 graves for invaders
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-30 11:01

TEHRAN - A senior Iranian military official said on Sunday the Islamic republic is digging some 320,000 graves in its border provinces for future slain invaders, Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV reported.

Iran's Armed Forces headquarters has approved the plan to dig graves for enemy forces in case of any attack on its territory, said Brigadier General Mir-Faisal Baqerzadeh, head of the Foundation for the Remembrance of the Holy Defense.

"We do not wish the families of enemy soldiers to experience what Americans had to go through in the aftermath of the Vietnam War," said Baqerzadeh, who is also head of Iran's search committee for missing soldiers.

The preemptive measures would decrease the time during which slain soldiers would be buried, the Iranian military official said, adding "the burial of slain soldiers will be carried out decently and in little time."

Baqerzadeh said the decision is in line with Iran's commitment to the Geneva Convention and additional protocols regarding wartime cooperation between Iran and the Red Cross.

The United States and its allies have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran has denied the US charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The Bush administration has said it focused on diplomacy to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue, but also proclaimed it will take "no option off the table."

Some observers believe it is possible that the United States and Israel would attack Iranian targets for Tehran's suspicious nuclear programs.

The New York Times has reported recently the US military believed a major military exercise by Israel in early June was a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear sites.

Some American officials said the Israeli dry run appeared to bean effort to develop the military's capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran's nuclear program.