Iran warned Western powers on Friday that armed forces would hit back ”like lightning” against any attack as it crowed over its military prowess and showed off firepower at a major army parade. Thousands of members of the armed forces and the whole panoply of Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal were on display at the parade, including the Shahab-3, a weapon whose range includes arch-enemy Israel.

Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday ridiculed a European Union plan to offer trade and technology incentives in exchange for his country agreeing to halt sensitive nuclear work. ”They think they can take away our gold and give us some nuts and chocolate in exchange,” Ahmadinejad told a rally in the town of Arak.

Iranian rescue workers handed out blankets, food and water on Monday to survivors of a powerful earthquake on a Gulf island that killed 10 people and forced villagers to spend the night in tents. Power was restored to the afflicted villages on the Gulf island of Qeshm after a blackout caused by the quake.

Nine people were killed and scores more injured on Sunday when a powerful earthquake measuring close to six on the Richter scale struck an island off Iran’s southern coast, officials said. Five villages were damaged when the quake hit Qeshm island at 1.53pm local time and was felt for more than 10 seconds.