TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran will set Tel Aviv on fire if Israel attacks the Islamic republic over its controversial nuclear programme, newspapers on Sunday quoted Iran’s envoy to the United Nations as saying.

“If the Zionist regime commits the slightest aggression against the Iranian soil, we will set the entire war front and Tel Aviv on fire,” Mohammad Khazai said in the northeastern town of Kashmar, the Farhang-e Ashti daily reported.

The government-run Iran newspaper quoted him as saying that the “noise” about an Israeli attack on the Islamic republic is a “sign of the enemy’s fear.”

Israel has never ruled out taking military action to thwart Iran’s programme of uranium enrichment, accusing its arch-foe of seeking to acquire atomic weapons — a charge Tehran denies.

Iranian officials have frequently warned of a crushing response in the event of an attack either by Israel or the United States, which has led international efforts to bring a halt to Tehran’s uranium enrichment work.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is peaceful and has refused to stop enrichment in defiance of the UN Security Council, which has imposed four sets of sanctions on Tehran.