The chief commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard or Pasdaran has said it is his country's "natural right" to retaliate against any attack by the United States.

However in an interview with Al Jazeera, General Mohammad Ali Jafari sought to reassure Iran's Arab neighbours in the Gulf they would not be targeted in any future conflict.

"However, if the US launches a war against us, and if it uses these stations to attack Iran with missiles, then through the strength and precision of our own missiles, we are capable of targeting only the US military forces who attack us."

 

The US military has several bases in Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Yemen.

During a recent tour of the Gulf, George Bush, the US president, said Iran is "the leading state sponsor of terror", and said "all options" against Tehran remain on the table.

Many countries in the Gulf who maintain ties with both Washington and Tehran are nervous about the impact of any military confrontation.