General Yahya Rahim Safavi also accused US and British intelligence services of provoking unrest in the oil-rich southwestern Iran and providing bomb materials to Iranian dissidents.

Two bombings killed at least nine people in the southwestern city of Ahvaz on Jan. 21 , near the border with southern Iraq where 8,500 British soldiers are based.

“The world knows Iran has a ballistic missile power with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,300 miles),” Safavi said on state-run television. Israel is within that range.

“We have no intention to invade any country. We will take effective defence measures if attacked,” he said.