Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis

Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Wednesday that Iranian forces are prepared "at the highest levels," the local Fars news agency reported.

"Our armed forces are in a state of readiness at the highest levels and they are monitoring all enemy moves vigilantly," Najjar was quoted as saying on the sidelines of an open session of the parliament.

The Iranian forces will give the most devastating response possible to even the smallest aggressive moves by the enemies, he said.

The Iranian defense minister also dismissed the current U.S. build-up in the region, saying it is a display of power by the "enemy" to affect Iran through increased psychological pressure.

He also urged the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to take "rational" actions when dealing with Iran.

"If you are wise, you must contemplate and take an action which is rational and serves the interests of your nation," Najjar said.

"During the past 27 years, whatever action the enemies have taken against us has ended up in their own detriment," he warned.

Najjar's defiant remarks came amid reports that the United States is increasingly flexing its muscles to counter Iran's growing regional assertiveness and put more pressure on Tehran over its controversial nuclear program.

A second U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS John C. Stennis, will arrive in the Middle East in about one month, the first time since the U.S.-led Iraq war in 2003 that the United States will have two carrier battle groups in the region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has warned Iran that its perception of U.S. vulnerability in the region was part of the reason the Pentagon sent the aircraft carrier to the region.

Editor: Yan