A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned Sunday that the country could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel and its allies — namely, the U.S. — if Iran confirmed Israel was preparing to attack it first. "In that case, unpredictable and unmanageable things would happen, and it could turn into a World War Three," Amir Ali Hajizadeh told Iran's state-run Al-Alam television, saying that in the event of any such conflict, Iran would "certainly get into a conflict with American bases." Iran has also warned that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz will be jeopardized. Iranian officials have previously threatened to close the waterway, the route for a fifth of the world's oil, if there is war. Iran's warning comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepares to speak to the United Nations on Wednesday. With nine months left in his final term, Ahmadinejad helms a country crippled by Western sanctions, and his speech could highlight his growing world isolation, Bloomberg News reported.
