The comments by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came a day after a senior Iranian official said Iran would strike Israel and U.S. bases in the region if the Islamic Republic was attacked over its disputed nuclear program.

"Before the enemies get their hands on the trigger the armed forces will cut off their hands," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as telling reporters.

Israel, long assumed to have its own atomic arsenal, has sworn to prevent Iran from emerging as a nuclear-armed power.

Last month Israel staged an air force exercise that stoked speculation about a possible assault on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran has vowed to strike back at Tel Aviv, as well as U.S. interests and shipping, if it is attacked, asserting that missiles fired during wargames last week included ones that could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the region.

Ahmadinejad said the weaponry displayed in the Revolutionary Guards' missile exercise, which was condemned by Western powers, was only a small part of Iran's defense capability.