Iran yesterday showed off its ballistic missiles and warned any nation considering attacking it would face a "destructive and fiery" response. On show at an annual military parade were thousands of troops and a range of hardware including six of Iran's Shahab-3 ballistic missiles - which sported banners saying "Death to America", "We will crush America under our feet" and "Israel must be wiped off the face of the earth".

The event marked the start of "Sacred Defence Week" - the anniversary of the outbreak of an eight-year war with Iraq in 1980.

Iran, meanwhile, hailed as a "significant victory" the European Union's climbdown from its demand that the UN's nuclear watchdog report the Islamic republic to the UN Security Council.

Opposition from China, Russia, India and the Non-Aligned Movement stopped the EU sending Tehran to the highest UN body for possible sanctions over its nuclear programme.

The EU dropped the demand from a revised draft resolution after nearly 15 of the 35 members of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board, including China and Russia, opposed it.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, head of the Revolutionary Guards Yahya Rahim Safavi and Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar pay tribute to Iranian soldiers during a military parade to commemorate the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, Tehran, September 22, 2005. (Reuters)