Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday the country's military will "break the hands" of invaders if attacked, amid its continuing nuclear standoff with the West.
"If anyone allows themselves to invade Iranian territory and its legal interests... our armed forces will break their hands before they pull the trigger," he told a military parade in a speech broadcast live on television.
"Our nation is seeking friendship and peace... but today it is not in a position to show the least flexibility towards its bullying enemies," he said in the speech marking the 28th anniversary of Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
Tehran is at odds with the West over its disputed nuclear programme, which the United States and its allies fear could be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists it wants only to produce nuclear energy.
The United States has never ruled out a military strike against the Islamic republic although Washington insists it prefers diplomacy. The same is true of American ally Israel, which Iran does not recognise.
Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear armed state, considers Iran its main strategic threat because of its nuclear ambitions.
Iran's armed forces, including the elite Revolutionary Guards, showcased their weaponry at Sunday's parade.
On display were the long-range Shahab-3 missile and Qadr-1, both of which a military commentator said during the broadcast have a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles).
Meanwhile, the UN atomic watchdog begins its traditional September board meeting here Monday to discuss the current stalemate in its long-running investigation into Iran's controversial atomic drive.
The meeting, which is slated to run all week but could be wrapped up as early as Wednesday, according to some diplomats, is also expected to hear an update on state of the International Atomic Energy Agency's probe into Syria.