Iran says it will use all means to resist the attack and make plans for air strikes against Israel

　　Profile picture: On November 2, 2006, in a military exercise held in the desert near Qom, a city in central Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was testing the Meteor -3 medium-range missile. The Iranian military successfully test-fired a number of medium-range "Meteor -3" missiles in the military exercises that began that day. The missile range can cover the whole of Israel and the US military bases in the Middle East. Xinhua news agency

　　A spokesman for the Iranian government said on the 19th that Tehran will use "all means" to fight back in case of military attack by western countries, so as to ensure that the territorial integrity of the country is not violated. However, the Iranian side refused to disclose any specific means of combat. Earlier, Iran had said that once it was attacked by the United States, it would violently retaliate against various interests of the United States in the Middle East, and did not rule out the possibility of using oil as a weapon.

　　The deputy commander of the Iranian air force said that the country has formulated a "plan for air strikes against Israel" and will put it into practice when it is attacked by Israeli military. Iran’s most elite Revolutionary Guard also said that it is ready for any military confrontation with the enemy and has found an "effective way" to deal with US cruise missiles. The outside world is worried that once Israel joins the US air strikes against Iran, it may pull the Middle East into an earth-shattering melee.

　　Perinaud, a White House spokeswoman, said on the same day that Iran’s remarks about retaliation in case of Israeli military attack were "unhelpful, unconstructive" and even "provocative". At the same time, the United States is stepping up drafting a new resolution on sanctions against Iran. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has previously said that she will continue to solve the Iranian issue through diplomatic efforts, but because her opponent "does not play by the rules", she does not rule out taking "other measures".

　　The Associated Press reported that Western analysts pointed out that Iran may block this international crude oil transportation artery by cutting off the Strait of Hormuz. The commander of the US Navy is worried that once the war breaks out, Iran, which is guarding the throat of the Strait of Hormuz, will take "mine warfare" and other ways to block the narrow the Strait of Hormuz and even the neighboring Persian Gulf. This move is bound to cause the international crude oil market price to skyrocket, which in turn threatens the economies of all countries in the world.

　　Recently, the contradiction between the United States and Iran triggered by the Iranian nuclear issue has intensified again. Western media constantly "disclose" that the Pentagon has secretly formulated a "three-day lightning operation plan" against Iraq, which plans to destroy all Iran’s military capabilities in a short period of time, especially the location of thousands of secret weapons development projects. Arab countries, especially Egypt, oppose the use of force to solve the Iranian nuclear issue, saying that they will seek to normalize relations with Iran through consultation.

　　Iran said that if the United States chooses to attack 2,000 targets in Iran, Tehran will also list the same number of targets to retaliate. Experts believe that all kinds of targets that Iran may attack include: Western companies in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (along the Persian Gulf), major oil fields in Saudi Arabia, US military bases in Qatar, the US Fifth Fleet docked in Bahrain, and even the British Air Force in Cyprus.

　　Profile photo: On April 5, an Iranian fighter plane participated in a military exercise in the Persian Gulf. Iran began to hold a one-week joint military exercise in the southern Persian Gulf coast and nearby waters on March 31st. During the exercise, the Iranian army successively tested a variety of new missiles and torpedoes. Xinhua news agency

　　600 Iranian medium-range missiles are "ready" and Israel dare not neglect them.

　　Earlier, an Iranian news website with an official background reported that the Iranian military had targeted 600 Meteor -3 missiles at "important targets" in Israel and US military bases in Iraq. The website claims that if Iran or Syria is attacked by the enemy in the future, Iran will "not hesitate to launch missiles at Israel to retaliate". It is said that these 600 missiles are only the "first step" for Iran to respond.

　　According to the data, the Meteor -3 missile is a weapon system independently developed by the Iranian military, which can be called the most important military counterattack force in the country. According to information from western countries, the "Meteor -3" missile is a single-stage missile about 16 meters long and can carry up to one ton of explosives. However, the accuracy of this weapon is not very high, about 1 km. In the past few years, the Iranian military has continuously improved this weapon and rapidly increased its "inventory".

　　In order to strengthen its ability to deal with Iranian missile attacks, the Israeli military plans to purchase the latest Patriot -3 missile defense system from the United States. Patriot -3 is equipped with a launcher that can carry a magazine filled with 16 missiles. Moreover, this missile is small, mobile and more lethal, and can intercept aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Israel first deployed Patriot missiles to intercept Iraqi Scud missiles in 1991.

　　Israel’s current missile defense system mainly includes the Arrow missile defense system that can intercept high-altitude long-range missiles and the Patriot missile defense system that deals with low-altitude flying targets. In the next 10 years, the United States will provide Israel with a total of $30 billion in military assistance. Experts pointed out that the main purpose of Israel’s procurement of advanced Patriot missile defense system is to deal with missile attacks that may come from Syria and Iran.

　　In addition, the United States and the European Union also claim that there is intelligence that Iran and Syria are cooperating in the field of "weapons of mass destruction", especially chemical weapons that can be carried by missiles. Jane’s Defense Weekly revealed that Israel’s neighboring Syria has at least 100 Scud -C missiles, 200 Scud -B missiles and even many Scud -D missiles. The close proximity of offensive weapons is an important factor that makes Israel sleepless. (Gao Yijun)

Editor: Cao Jin