TEHRAN, Iran â€"  The acting commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard warns Israel will "definitely" face fierce retaliation if it attacks Iranian nuclear sites.

Gen. Hossein Salami's comments appear to be part of Iranian efforts to portray any strike as the trigger for a regional conflict that could draw in Iranian proxies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, on Israel's borders.

Salami was quoted Thursday by the semiofficial ISNA news agency as saying Iran has prepared for "global battles."

He spoke on the sidelines of urban combat drills in Tehran by some 15,000 paramilitary fighters known as Basiji, who are controlled by the Revolutionary Guard.

The exercises were dubbed "Ila Beit ol Moqaddas," or Toward the Holy City, meaning Jerusalem. The war games include drills on defending against mock air raids and other threats.