The Sunday Times of London, quoting unnamed Iranian officials, reported that Iran has 40,000 trained suicide bombers prepared to strike at British and US targets if Iranian nuclear sites are attacked. The paper quoted Dr Hassan Abbasi, head of the Centre for Doctrinal Strategic Studies in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, as saying in a speech that 29 Western targets had been identified: "We are ready to attack American and British sensitive points if they attack Iran's nuclear facilities," Abbasi was quoted as saying, adding that some of them were "quite close" to the Iranian border in Iraq.

The publication said it had heard a recording in which Abbasi warned would-be bombers to "pay close attention to wily England" and vowed that "Britain's demise is on our agenda."