Statement comes after failed nuclear talks between Iran and world powers earlier this week in Moscow.

Any attack by Israel against Iran would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state, a senior Iranian general said Saturday.

"The Zionist regime cannot do the least against Iran but if the regime still considers any military attack against us, then it would cause its own end and collapse," General Mostafa Izadi, Iran´s deputy chief of staff, told Fars news agency.

The general was referring to the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran´s nuclear sites after negotiations between Iran and the world powers earlier this week in Moscow failed.

The two-day talks in Moscow ended without tangible results, not even the prospect of another round of talks.

The two sides merely agreed to hold a low-level meeting of working groups on July 3 in Istanbul. Neither the formation of these groups nor the agenda have yet been clarified.

Israel accuses Iran of working on a clandestine nuclear weapons program which directly threatens its safety and has therefore not ruled out military attacks on Iran´s nuclear sites.

Iran has several times warned that in case of an Israeli attack, it would use its medium-range missiles which - according to Tehran - have a range of 2,000 kilometers and could therefore reach any part of Israel.

Although President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has distanced himself from his own previous remarks on wiping Israel from the map, some generals from the army and revolutionary guards continue to repeat such threats. (© Copyright 2012 Ha´aretz 06/24/12)