TEHRAN, Iran (AP):

Iran yesterday began large-scale air defence war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel.

It said the five-day drill would cover an area a third of the size of Iran and spread across the central, western and southern parts of the country.

General Ahmad Mighani, head of an air-force unit in charge of responding to threats to Iran's air space, said Saturday the war games would cover regions where Iran's nuclear facilities are located.

The drill involves Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, the paramilitary Basij forces affiliated with the guard, as well as army units.

The United States and its European allies accuse Iran of embarking on a nuclear weapons programme. Iran denies the charge and insists the programme is only for peaceful purposes.

'9/11 defendants want to air views'

NEW YORK, New York (AP):

The five men facing trial in the September 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of United States foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said yesterday.

Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it".

The US Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in the US will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.

Venezuela to get 300 armoured vehicles

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP):

President Hugo Chávez is hailing the forthcoming arrival of 300 Russian-made tanks and armoured vehicles, and urging civilians to join government-organised militias to be ready to defend Venezuela from a foreign invasion.

Chávez called on his supporters to undergo military training and join the militias during a Saturday speech that ended around midnight, saying he thinks "it's the obligation" of every member of his socialist party to participate in an ongoing effort to "organise combat groups".

Chávez, a former paratroop commander, said more than 300 armoured vehicles and Russian war tanks, including T-72 battle tanks, will be arriving in Venezuela along with radar and air-defence systems.

Venezuela has already bought more than $4-billion worth of Russian arms since 2005, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, dozens of attack helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. And in September, Russia opened a $2.2-billion line of credit for Venezuela to purchase more weapons.

The military acquisitions, coupled with weapons purchases among South American nations, including Brazil and Ecuador, have raised concerns of an arms race in the region.