The Deputy Commander of Iran’s Air Force claims that a retaliatory contingency plan is already in existance.
(Commentary: It seems clear to me that Hezbollah’s attack against Israel last Summer was intended to act as a demonstration of Iran’s continued influence to the north of the Jewish state. More importantly it was a means to show that the Shi’ite confederacy (Iran, Hezbollah, the Allawite gov of Syria and pro-Iranian elements in Sunni Hamas) was capable of retaliating in the event of an Israeli aerial strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Not only that but Israel would also have to be on guard against retaliation from multiple directions, not just from the wounded Persians to the East. What is not clear is the extent to which Iran can threaten Israel in terms of aerial bombardment and ballistic strikes. I’d doubt Iranian planes will be able to penetrate their air space and long range missles probably won’t be too effective at that distance. Consider that only one Israeli was killed when Saddam hurled 39 SCUDs at Israel in ’91. However any chance of retaliation directly from Iran would certainly serve to widen the affair into a regional issue and so is likely to make the Israelis consider the consequences a little longer )
