By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping inthe Gulf and American interests around the world if it isattacked over its disputed nuclear activities, an aide toIran's Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followedby Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," thestudents news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in aspeech to Revolutionary Guards.
The United States and its allies suspect Iran is trying tobuild nuclear bombs. Tehran says its program is peaceful.
Leaders of the Group of Eight rich countries expressedserious concern at the proliferation risks posed by Iran'snuclear program.
In a statement issued after G8 leaders met in Hokkaido,northern Japan, the grouping urged Tehran to suspend allenrichment-related activities.
"We also urge Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA," theG8 said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said earlier that majorworld powers had decided to send European Union foreign policychief Javier Solana to Iran for talks on an incentives packagethey offered last month to induce Tehran to change its nuclearpolicy.
Sarkozy did not say when Solana would travel to Tehran.Iran formally replied on Friday to the offer by the UnitedStates, France, Britain, China, Russia and Germany.
France said Iran's response had ignored the world powers'demand for a suspension of uranium enrichment before talks onimplementing the package -- a condition rejected on Monday as"illegitimate" by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
'GREAT HOPE'
In Prague, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saidthere were ways that Iran might wish to talk with Solana orothers in order to get that suspension to take place.
"I did speak with Javier Solana yesterday. He is in contactwith his Iranian counterpart and it's our great hope that theIranians will avail themselves of this opportunity to get onthe right side of the international community."
Shirazi's comments intensified a war of words that hasraised fears of military confrontation and helped boost worldoil prices to record highs in recent weeks.
"The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials toattack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S.shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets andthey will be burned," Shirazi was quoted as saying.
Shirazi, a mid-level cleric, is Supreme Leader AyatollahAli Khamenei's representative to the Revolutionary Guards.
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert'sspokesman, Mark Regev, declined to comment on the threat to hitTel Aviv, saying only: "Shirazi's words speak for themselves."
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armedpower, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.The United States says it wants to resolve the dispute bydiplomacy but has not ruled out military action.
In April, Israel's Infrastructure Minister BinyaminBen-Eliezer, who is a former army general and defence minister,told Israeli media: "An Iranian attack will prompt a severereaction from Israel, which will destroy the Iranian nation."
'VERY SCARY'
Tel Aviv is an Israeli coastal metropolis hit in 1991 byScud missiles launched by former Iraqi leader Saddam Husseinduring a U.S.-led war with Baghdad.
"I think it is very scary what they are saying," said RoyKatalan, holding his infant daughter in his arms on a Tel Avivbeach. "I think we should take him (Shirazi) seriously."
The latest Iranian threats had little impact on financialmarkets in Israel. "This has no relevance on dollar-shekeltrade. I assume if we see a strike, there will be a reaction,"said Neil Corney, treasurer for Citigroup's office in Tel Aviv.
Oil tumbled to below $136 on Tuesday, dropping by about $10this week on a stronger dollar and eased concern over anAtlantic hurricane. Oil had hit a record $145.85 last week ontensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions and worries a brewingstorm could hit oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if itcomes under attack. About 40 percent of globally traded oilmoves through the Gulf waterway.
In Washington, the U.S. Treasury designated four Iranianfirms and four individuals on Tuesday for their ties to Iran'snuclear and missile programs, a move that bans U.S. companiesfrom dealing with them and freezes any assets they may haveunder U.S. jurisdiction.
The Revolutionary Guards' commander of artillery andmissile units, Mahmoud Chaharbaghi, said 50 brigades of hisforces had been equipped with what he called smart clustermunitions.
"All our arms, bullets and rockets are on alert" to defendIranian territory, Hemayet daily quoted him as saying.
U.S. and British naval forces wrapped up military exercisesin the Gulf and said they were unrelated to tensions with Iran.The Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet said "Exercise Stake Net"took place in the central and southern Gulf and was part oftraining aimed at protecting the region's oil infrastructure.