In case of war, Iran has plans for airstrikes on Israel, general says
A senior Iranian military official said today that his country had drawn up plans to launch airstrikes against Israel in case of war between the two countries, according to an interview published by an Iranian news agency.
Gen. Mohammed Alavi, a deputy commander in the Iranian air force, told the semi-official 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 U.S. 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 U.S. or Israeli air raids by hitting targets in the Persian Gulf, disrupting oil flows or launching attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq or Afghanistan. [complete article]
Editor’s Comment — When for weeks the Bush administration has been doing nothing to dampen speculation that Iran has been targeted for bombing, and after Israel’s recent mysterious attack on facilities in eastern Syria, it is completely disingenuous for the White House to claim that Iran’s comments on retaliation were “totally unprovoked.”
Israel itself has downplayed the Iranian threat:
Israeli officials are treating Iran’s latest claims that it has 600 Shihab-3 missiles aimed at targets throughout the country the same way it treated Teheran’s claims last month to have crossed a key nuclear threshold: by listening carefully, but not believing everything they hear.
Is this the response we would expect from a nation that supposedly lives in the shadow of an existential threat?
The “Why Would the U.S. Attack Iran” website – http://www.whyattackiran.com/ – has been updated to represent the current government.
There is not the slightest actual evidence that the Iranian nuclear program has anything to do with creating nuclear weapons [1] and even if it did have a weapons program it would pose no threat to the United States [2]. Nevertheless, the United States has been constantly and deliberately misrepresenting these realities [3] in order to create the false impression that there is some valid reason for us to attack Iran.
So why is the political leadership of the United States falsifying evidence to justify a war against Iran, a war that would make the current war in Iraq look like a cakewalk [4]?
“… it’s the threat against Israel,”[5]
Although the vast majority of Americans are opposed to a U.S. attack on Iran [6] – a fact that has been a problem for many leaders of the Israel Lobby [7] – roughly 71% of Israelis actively support the idea of the U.S. attacking Iran [8]. The “Why Would the U.S. Attack Iran?” website – http://www.whyattackiran.com/ – shows this in detail, illustrating the current leadership (President, Vice-President, Secretary of State, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader, Speaker of the House, House Majority Leader, and House Minority Leader) standing before AIPAC [9] declaring their willingness to go to war against Iran on behalf of Israel. Further, recent news stories – primarily from pro-Israel sources – are listed on the left side of the site clearly illustrating the issue. There is no mystery or conspiracy about the fact that the pro-Israel lobby is leading the charge for war on Iran, it is all quite out in the open and freely admitted.
To learn more about the push for war against Iran and why, please visit the “Why Would the U.S. Attack Iran?” website at: http://www.whyattackiran.com/ If you find it useful, please be sure to pass it along to others.
Notes:
[1] Mark Heinrich, “Western talk of Iran war premature ‘hype’: IAEA head,” Reuters, 17 September 2007, http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-09-17T151816Z_01_L17903337_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-NUCLEAR-IAEA-COL.XML
[2] Robert Burns, “Abizaid: World could abide nuclear Iran,” Associated Press, 17 September 2007, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070918/ap_on_go_ot/abizaid_iran;_ylt=AoPcm9.sCbgOW.nDG7s0XqQDW7oF
[3] BBC Staff, “US Iran report branded dishonest,” BBC News, 14 September 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5346524.stm
[4] Paul Rogers, “Iran: Consequences of a War,” Oxford Research Group, February 2006,
http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefing_papers/iranconsequences.php
[5] Quote given in context of Iraq, not Iran, but holds true in both cases. Philip Zelikow, former member of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and executive director of the 9/11 Commission. Statement made at the University of Virginia on Sep. 10, 2002 http://ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=23083
[6] For a collection of recent polls, see: PollingReport.Com http://www.pollingreport.com/iran.htm
[7] James D. Besser, “Jewish Leaders Caught In Iran Bind,” The Jewish Week, 31 August 2007, http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=14460
[8] Aluf Benn, “Poll: 71% of Israelis want the U.S. to strike Iran if talks fail,” Ha’aretz, 18 May 2007, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/860903.html
[9] AIPAC, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, http://www.aipac.org/