Iran to neighbors: don't help Israelis

TEHERAN, Iran - Iran warned neighboring countries not to help its arch-foe Israel, one day after announcing it had rounded up a spy ring linked to Israel which it said had assassinated an Iranian nuclear scientist.

Israel has not ruled out military strikes on the Islamic Republic if diplomatic efforts fail to stop Teheran trying to build nuclear weapons. Iran has vowed to retaliate with missile strikes on Israel and US targets in the Gulf.

"Our neighbors and the regional countries that have ties with the Zionist regime should know that any assistance given to this regime would be viewed as a threat to Iran," Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi told a rare news conference on Tuesday.