Summary

NAME: MAL IRAN 20080708Ix TAPE: EF08/0701 IN_TIME: 10:37:54:24 DURATION: 00:00:45:22 SOURCES: IRINN DATELINE: Kuala Lumpur, 8 July 2008 RESTRICTIONS: No Access Iran SHOTLIST: 1. Wide of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian delegation at news conference at the developing eight Islamic countries summit 2. Wide of media and attendants 3. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President: ++Interrupted by translator's voice++ "This regime (Israel) is doomed to destruction innately and does not need the Iranian nation's act." 4. Wide of Ahmadinejad and his delegation at podium 5. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian President: "I assure you that there wont be any war. It is mainly a propaganda which as I previously said is a repeated, funny scenario." 6. Ahmadinejad and Iranian delegation leaving news conference as attendants applauding STORYLINE The Iranian president said on Tuesday that he does not see the possibility of a war with the United States or Israel, dismissing perceived military threats by the two countries as a "funny scenario." President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was addressing a news conference during a visit to Malaysia for the summit of developing Muslim nations, also said he predicted Israel's "regime" would collapse without the need for any Iranian action. "I assure you that there wont be any war. It is mainly a propaganda which as I previously said is a repeated, funny scenario." Ahmadinejad's comments came a day after Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the country would retaliate against any military strike by targeting Tel Aviv and U.S. warships in the Gulf. Iranian officials have been issuing a mix of conciliatory and bellicose statements in recent weeks about the possibility of a clash with the U.S. and Israel. Ahmadinejad has said Iran has the right to defend itself. Asked to clarify his previous calls for the destruction of Israel, Ahmadinejad said he has nothing against Jews but only against the "Zionists" who rule Israel. Known for vitriolic anti-Israeli rhetoric, Ahmadinejad prompted international controversy when he called in 2005 for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map." For the few couple of years Iran has emphasised its right to have a nuclear program, which is at the heart of its dispute with the West. The Islamic country insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, such as energy production. But the US administration believes it is for making nuclear weapons. Although Washington says it prefers a diplomatic resolution to the standoff, the US and Israel have not ruled out a military option. Israel's military sent warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean for a large military exercise in June that US officials described as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.