Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruled out an attack on the Islamic republic over its nuclear programme, during a visit to Qatar on Sunday, because any such action would result in Israel's destruction.

"Any act against Iran will lead to the eradication of the Zionist entity," he told a joint news conference in Doha with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, after their talks.

Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has not ruled out a military strike to prevent Iran acquiring an atomic weapons capability, an ambition its arch-foe Tehran strongly denies.

"The Zionist entity and the US government would hit any country in the region whenever they are able to do so, and they will not wait to get permission. But (at the moment) they cannot," he said.

"Iran has the ability to retaliate, strong and hard," warned Ahmadinejad, whose comments in Farsi were translated into Arabic.

Iran's hardline president said the talk of war against Iran to halt its controversial nuclear programme was aimed at putting psychological pressure on Tehran.

"There will be no war against Iran. What could take place is a psychological war," he said.

In renewed criticism of the relaunched direct peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, Ahmadinejad charged that the "decaying" Jewish state was hoping to "revive" itself through the talks.

"The Zionist entity is decaying. It is in a critically difficult state, and hopes to revive itself through an unfruitful dialogue," he said.

Ahmadinejad had on Friday said the Washington-sponsored talks were "doomed" to fail, and infuriated the moderate Palestinian leadership by slamming it as unrepresentative.

"Who gave them the right to sell a piece of Palestinian land? The people of Palestine and the people of the region will not allow them to sell even an inch of Palestinian soil to the enemy," he said at an annual pro-Palestinian rally.

Unlike other Arab states in the Gulf that have echoed Western suspicions about Iran's nuclear programme and its ambitions in the region, Qatar has maintained friendly relations.

In May when the United States was pushing for a new round of UN sanctions against Iran, Qatar backed Turkish and Brazilian efforts to broker a deal that would avoid further punitive measures.

But Qatar is also a staunch US ally and hosts two American military bases.

As-Sayliyah base served as the coalition's command and control centre during the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, while the US air force used Al-Udeid airbase in the 2001 war in Afghanistan and in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion.

earlier related report
Japan slaps new financial sanctions on Iran
Tokyo (AFP) Sept 3, 2010 - Japan imposed new sanctions Friday against Iran, including an assets freeze on people and entities linked to its contentious nuclear programme and tighter restrictions on financial transactions.

Japan also said it would suspend any new oil and gas investments in Iran, but there are no plans to restrict imports of crude oil from the Islamic republic, the fourth-biggest oil supplier to resource-poor Japan.

The steps come a month after Tokyo approved punitive measures in line with a June UN Security Council resolution which slapped a fourth set of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment work.

Japan's new sanctions include a freeze on the assets of 88 companies, banks, state agencies and other entities and 24 people linked to Iran's nuclear programme, which many nations fear masks a drive for atomic weapons.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Japan will also bar the individuals on the expanded blacklist of people and groups, which includes the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard, from entering the country, a government document said.

The sanctions bar Japanese financial institutions from dealing in equities and bonds that could be linked to the development of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, including bonds issued by Iran's central bank.

The United States, the European Union, Canada and Australia have also announced additional sanctions, which have been opposed by Russia and China, now Iran's closest trading partner, with major energy interests in the country.

Washington last month urged Tokyo to help raise international pressure on Tehran, despite Japan's usually friendly ties with the country.

In early August US State Department special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control Robert Einhorn said in Tokyo: "Japan imports a lot of oil from Iran, but the steps we are asking Japan to take would not interfere in any way with Japan's energy security, its imports of oil from Iran."

The top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, said at a press conference Friday that the new sanctions aim to help efforts to stop Iran's nuclear development and promote nuclear non-proliferation.

"Our nation has traditionally had a close relationship with Iran," he told reporters. "From this unique position, we will make persistent calls on the country for the peaceful and diplomatic resolution of this problem."

Under the changes, the government-linked Nippon Export and Investment Insurance agency will also stop new medium and long-term trade insurance policies that protect Japanese exporters to Iran against possible losses.

"When you think of how many companies would go into a country with such high risk without government backing, it would be very unlikely," said an official of Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

He added that Iran is now the fourth-biggest exporter of crude oil to Japan, after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

"We do not expect these measures to have a significant impact on Japan's current level of crude oil trade with Iran," he said.