July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Iran would strike Israel and the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf as a first response to any American attack on its nuclear program, an aide to Supreme Leader Ayataollah Ali Khamenei said.

Israel wants the U.S. ``to prepare a military aggression against Iran,'' the state-run Fars News agency today cited Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's representative in the Revolutionary Guards' naval division, as telling military personnel. ``If they resort to such a silly undertaking, Tel Aviv and the U.S. fleet in the Persian Gulf will be the first targets'' of Iran's response.

Tensions over Iran increased, helping push the price of oil to a record, after a New York Times report that Israeli military maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean last month were in preparation for a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Shirazi's comments came as Iran conducted military exercises designed to strengthen the combat capacity of its missile and Navy units, Fars said in a separate report.

Fars didn't give details of the maneuvers. Shirazi, though, said Iran and its forces were now at the peak of their ``capability, power and readiness.''

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran will maintain its nuclear activities, according to written responses to questions from Japan's Yomiuri newspaper.

Ahmadinejad said today Iran has the right to develop a nuclear program, while declining to say whether his country will suspend uranium enrichment as required in a package of incentives from the world powers.

Call for Trust

``The world governments should trust the Iranian government,'' Ahmadinejad told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, where he is attending a summit of the Eight Islamic Developing Countries. ``We do believe if there is cooperation with the Iranian government, it is for their own benefit.''

Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, won't accept ``illegal demands,'' Ahmadinejad told Yomiuri. G-8 countries believe they can maintain world order without paying attention to the dignity or requirements of other nations, the Iranian president said in a separate article for the newspaper.

Nuclear Weapons

The U.S. and allies accuse Iran of using its atomic program as cover for the development of nuclear weapons. Iran, which is under three sets of United Nations sanctions for refusing to halt uranium enrichment, denies the allegation and says the work is aimed at generating electricity. Enriched uranium can fuel a nuclear reactor or arm a weapon.

President George W. Bush said July 2 he is committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution to end the stalemate, yet ``all options'' remain in place.

Iran on July 4 indicated it's willing to discuss an incentives package from world powers intended to persuade the Persian Gulf nation to suspend uranium enrichment.

`Difficult'

The government in Tehran presented a reply ``with a focus on common ground and a constructive view,'' state television cited Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying in a telephone call with European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana. Jalili didn't elaborate on the terms of the response.

Solana said yesterday that though he hoped to continue the dialogue with Iran in the coming weeks, discussions were ``difficult'' and he didn't want to give the impression of being ``too optimistic.''

U.S. warships yesterday practiced maneuvers for protecting oil rigs in the Persian Gulf, a week after the Navy vowed to counter any Iranian effort to shut the Strait of Hormuz.

``The aim of Exercise Stake Net is to practice the tactics and procedures of protecting maritime infrastructure such as gas and oil installations,'' Commodore Peter Hudson said in a Fifth Fleet statement. Ships from the U.K. and Bahrain joined the U.S. Navy in the exercises.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said June 28 that his country may close the Strait of Hormuz, which is 21 miles (34 kilometers) across at its narrowest point, if attacked by Israel.

About 20 percent of the world's daily oil supply passes through the waterway between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, according to the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Tehran at lnasseri@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 8, 2008 08:48 EDT