Tehran  - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered that certification be proved of an honorary doctorate from Oxford University which his interior minister claims to have, Iran's official IRNA news agency said Wednesday.

Newly-appointed Interior Minister Ali Kordan had earlier this week claimed to have an honorary doctorate in law from the university, which the British institution categorically denied.

Tehran - Iran on Wednesday once again warned Israel with retaliation in case of a military attack on its nuclear sites, Mehr news agency reported.

It quoted the commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, as saying that if Israel endangered Iran's interests, the Islamic state would make the whole of Israeli territory "unsafe."

Tehran - The Iranian opposition party Etemad Melli (National Trust) appointed its moderate leader as its candidate for next year's presidential elections, state media reported Tuesday.

Teheran  - Iran has started production of new home-built submarines, Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najar said Monday.

Najar told state television that the new submarine, called Ghaem, was capable of carrying and firing various torpedoes and subsurface missiles with a special operation crew onboard.

The minister said Iran has become self-sufficient in manufacturing all types of military vessels, adding however that the Islamic state would just use its military strength for safeguarding peace and security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Tehran  - Any new sanctions would make Iran stronger and more decisive in achieving its technological goals, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday in a speech in Arak, central Iran.

"You have witnessed that despite sanctions we not only moved forward in the nuclear issue but even launched a satellite-carrier," Ahmadinejad said in the speech carried live by the news network Khabar.

Tehran - Iran plans to build six more nuclear power plants, the deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Organization said Tuesday.

Ahmad Fayazbakhsh told the official news agency IRNA that contracts were signed with six local companies commissioned to find suitable locations for the new plants within the next 13 months.

Companies from Canada, Russia and Switzerland also took part in the tender but only local firms were finally selected, he said.