Iran atomic chief says ready to defend nuclear facilities

TEHRAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran is ready to defend its nuclear facilities against any foreign attack, chief of Iran's Nuclear Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi said Tuesday.

"Iran has been continuously threatened with attacks on its nuclear facilities ... Tehran is confident of its capacities to defend itself," Salehi told Iran's IRINN state TV channel.

Salehi made the remarks on the sidelines of annual General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which opened Monday in the Vienna.

The General Conference will conclude on Sept. 18. About 1,500 delegates from 150 IAEA member states are attending the meeting.

Israel has not ruled out the possibility of bombing Iran's nuclear facilities which are regarded by the Jewish state as a potential threat against its existence.