Iran has plans to strike Israel in case of war, general says
By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
The Boston Globe
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A senior Iranian military official said yesterday that his country had drawn up plans to launch air strikes against Israel in case of war between the two countries, according to an interview published by an Iranian news agency.
General Mohammed Alavi, a deputy commander in the Iranian Air Force, told the semiofficial Fars News Agency that his country could attack Israel with long-range missiles as well as fighter planes in case of war between the two countries.
Israeli and US officials have threatened the possibility of preemptive attacks on Iran to block it from obtaining advanced nuclear technology that could be used to build atomic weapons.
Iran insists its nuclear program is meant to augment civilian energy needs.
Military analysts say Iran could retaliate against any US or Israeli air raids by hitting targets in the Persian Gulf, disrupting oil flows or launching attacks on US forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.
But Alavi said an Israeli attack on Iran would prompt retaliation against Israel.
"Such a plan is not just a hollow threat, and we do everything on the basis of correct and precise planning, and we have gained the needed readiness," Alavi said, according to the news agency. "We can also attack them by our fighter planes and respond to their possible air strikes."
Alavi added that he didn't think that Israel would attack Iran.
But he maintained that Iran had sophisticated air defense systems to counter fighter jets and cruise missiles, and that any enemy air force would lose 30 percent of its fighters during any air operation.
Israel is fewer than 600 miles from Iran's western edge.
Iran's Shahab-class missiles, based on a North Korean design, easily could reach the Levant, military specialists say.
Israel and the United States, along with allies in Europe, are locked in a war of words and military posturing with Iran, which seeks the capability to enrich uranium despite the opposition of the United Nations Security Council. Enriched uranium can be used to fuel a nuclear power plant or, if highly concentrated, build a bomb.
