Israel carried out a large-scale military exercise in the Mediterranean earlier this month as a warning to Iran that it has the capacity to mount an air strike on its nuclear facilities, Pentagon sources confirmed yesterday.

More than 100 Israeli F-16s and F-15s flew more than 900 miles, roughly the distance from Israel to Iran's Natanz nuclear plant. They were accompanied by refuelling planes and helicopters for rescuing downed crew.

A source in Washington described the exercise as "sabre-rattling" and said he did not think an attack was imminent. "If the Israelis were serious about it, no one would know about it until after it has happened," he said.

News of the exercise was leaked to the New York Times by the Pentagon, creating panic in the markets and sending oil prices jumping.

Both the US and Israel have said they will not allow Iran to secure a nuclear weapon capability. Iran says its nuclear development is for civilian purposes and it has no ambition to build a nuclear bomb.

The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, warned Israel and the US against any attack, saying there was no evidence that Iran was intent on building a nuclear weapon. Asked about Israeli warnings this month, Lavrov said yesterday: "I hope the actual actions would be based on international law. And international law clearly protects Iran's and anyone else's territorial integrity."

Pentagon officials told reporters that the Israelis "have been conducting some large-scale exercises - they live in a tough neighbourhood".

The leak comes only a week after Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, offered a new deal to Tehran to stop uranium enrichment, a stage in the development of a nuclear weapon capability. Tehran has not ruled it out. The leak could be designed to put pressure on Iran but it could be counterproductive, pushing the Iranians into rejection.

Two days after the offer, while President George Bush was visiting London, Gordon Brown announced tougher financial sanctions against Iran.

There has long been speculation that Bush, prodded by the vice-president, Dick Cheney, might launch an attack - or give the green light to Israel to launch one - before leaving office next January. But that speculation is receding.

The Israeli military refused to comment on the exercise but said the Israeli air force "regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by the threats facing Israel".

Although the Israeli government says it favours tougher sanctions to curb Iranian nuclear ambitions, it has pointedly not ruled out military action.

This week Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, repeated his warning that Iran remained the biggest threat in the region. "I don't think we deserve to live under the threat of a nuclear Iran," he said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald published on Thursday.

Shaul Mofaz, a deputy prime minister and former army chief, provoked criticism this month when he told an Israeli newspaper that an attack on Iran was unavoidable. "If Iran continues its programme to develop nuclear weapons we will attack it," said Mofaz, who is in charge of Israel's strategic dialogue with the US over such issues as Iran. But some analysts suggested Mofaz was not reflecting a government decision but simply positioning himself ahead of possible leadership elections within Israel.

In recent weeks, Israel has appeared to take a less confrontational approach on some issues. On Thursday a ceasefire went into effect with Hamas in Gaza, even though Israel has long said it will not negotiate with the Islamist group. The government has begun indirect talks with the Syrians for the first time in eight years in the hope of reaching a peace agreement, and a prisoner swap with the Lebanese militant group Hizbullah is reportedly near. Israel has also called for direct peace talks with Lebanon.

A military analyst, Martin Van Creveld, of Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said preparations for a possible attack were indeed under way. "Israel has been talking about this possibility for a long time, that it would not take an Iranian nuclear weapon lying down. And it has been practising the operation or operations for a long time."

Israeli jet exercise is warning to Iran over nuclear facilities, Pentagon says | World news | The Guardian

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