The deputy commander of the guards, Sardar Zolghadr, made the statement in an interview 
with an Iranian television channel, according to press reports here Saturday.

He said the oil fields in the region, which are the sources of energy for the United States,
will be threatened becausein the case of a U.S. attack on Iran, the country will not 
limit its defensive actions to within Iranian borders.

Top Iranian leaders have been warning the United States against taking military action in 
Iran.  Iranians have been angry that U.S. President George W. Bush said Iran, along with 
Iraq and North Korea, was part of an "axis of evil" that supports terrorism.

Friday, the cleric who served as Iran's president for most of the second decade after the 
Islamic Revolution warned the United States that the Iranian people would rise to defend 
their country against any military action.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaking to congregants at the weekly Muslim Friday prayers, 
said Iran would turn into a "deep quagmire" for America.

"Iranians will not roll the red carpet for the U.S. If they do come, the only red that they will 
see will be the blood of the aggressors," Rafsanjani said.

Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, said on Thursday that Iran would 
initiate no attacks but warned that any attack on Iran would spark a "resolute" response 
that "will make the aggressors regret their action."

Rafsanjani's successor, Mohammad Khatami, has called Bush's comments an "insult to the 
Iranian people."

Iranian leaders have called for a large anti-U.S. demonstration on Monday -- the anniversary 
of the Islamic Revolution -- to send a signal to Washington that Iranians are firmly behind 
their leaders in confronting any aggression.