The White House reiterated on Thursday that the United States has no plan to invade Iran which, Washington says, is defiant to the UN resolutions to develop nuclear weapons.

"I've said it, the secretary of defense has said it, the president has said it: We're not invading Iran," White House spokesman Tony Snow said at a news briefing.

Snow made the remarks after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that Iran would hit US global targets if it came under attack.

"He (Khamenei)'s spinning a hypothetical about something that is not contemplated," Snow said.

Iran and the United States severed diplomatic relations since 1979 when Iranian protesters seized the US Embassy in Tehran and kept 52 people hostage for 444 days.
 
The two countries also have been at odds over Iran's ambition to develop nuclear energy and alleged Iran's support of Islamic extremists and terrorists in Iraq.

US President George W. Bush ordered recently a second aircraft carrier group into the Gulf waters and said last month that Patriot anti-missile missiles would be stationed in the region.

In response to American hostility, Iran also held military maneuvers to test and demonstrate its advanced weapons, showing an unyieldingness to American pressure.

(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2007)