TEHRAN, Iran – The deputy commander
of Iran’s air force said Wednesday that
plans have been drawn up to bomb Israel
if the Jewish state attacks Iran, according
to the semiofficial Fars news agency.
The announcement came amid rising
tensions in the region, with the United
States calling for a new round of U.N.
sanctions against Iran over its disputed
nuclear program and Israeli planes
having recently overflown, and perhaps
even attacked, Iranian ally Syria.
On Sunday, French Foreign Minister
Bernard Kouchner said the
international community should
prepare for the possibility of war in
the event that Iran obtains atomic
weapons, although he later appeared
to soften that statement
“We have drawn up a plan to strike
back at Israel with our bombers if this
regime (Israel) makes a silly mistake,”
Gen. Mohammad Alavi was quoted as
telling Fars in an interview.
Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed
Najjar told the official IRNA news agency
Wednesday that “we keep various options
open to respond to threats. … We
will make use of them if required.”
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards
released a statement that the nation was
ready for a military confrontation.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said the United States is committed
to diplomacy. But she said “it can’t
be business as usual” with a country
whose president has spoken of wiping
Israel off the map.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman
Mark Regev said, “Unfortunately we
are all too accustomed to this kind
of bellicose, extremist and hateful
language coming from Iran.”
A top Revolutionary Guards commander
said this week that Americans
could be found all around Iran and that
they were legitimate Iranian targets if
the U.S. takes military action.