Iran will target NATO's missile defence installations in Turkey if the United States or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic, a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said Saturday.

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards' aerospace division, said the warning is part of a new defence strategy to counter what he described as an increase in threats from the U.S. and Israel.

"Should we be threatened, we will target NATO's missile defence shield in Turkey and then hit the next targets," the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.

Downgrade in Iran, U.K. diplomacy

Iran's parliament on Sunday approved a bill requiring both Iran and Britain to withdraw their respective ambassadors from each other's countries, following London's support of recently upgraded U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

Tehran's relations with Britain have become increasingly strained over the past few months, largely driven by tensions over Iran's disputed nuclear program. The West says the country is developing weapons; Tehran denies the claims.

Iranian lawmakers voted for the bill requiring the country to reduce its relationship with Britain to the level of charge d'affaires within two weeks.

Tensions have been rising between Iran and the West since the release of a report earlier this month by the International Atomic Energy Agency that said for the first time that Tehran is suspected of conducting secret experiments whose sole purpose is the development of nuclear arms.

The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of trying to produce atomic weapons, and Israel, which views Tehran as a threat to its existence, has warned of a possible strike on Iran's nuclear program. Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.

Tehran says NATO's early warning radar station in Turkey is meant to protect Israel against Iranian missile attacks if a war breaks out with the Jewish state. Ankara agreed to host the radar in September as part of NATO's missile defence system aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from neighbouring Iran.

A military installation in the Turkish town of Kurecik, about 700 kilometres west of the Iranian border, has been designated as the radar site, according to Turkish government officials.

Hajizadeh said the United States also plans to install similar stations in Arab states, which has spurred Iran to alter its military defence strategy. "Based on orders from the exalted commander in chief, we will respond to threats with threats," he was quoted as saying.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader and also commander in chief of Iran's armed forces, has the final say on all matters of state.

Another senior Guard commander, Yadollah Javani, threatened that Tehran will target Israel's nuclear facilities should the Jewish state attack Iran.

"If Israel fires a missile at our nuclear facilities or vital installations, it should know that Israel's nuclear centres will be the target of our missiles," the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

Iran has dismissed the American claims as a "foolish plot, saying U.S. officials have offered no proof.