Commander Stresses Iran's Ability to Shoot Down Israel's F15, F16 Fighters

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) here on Sunday warned of Tehran's crushing response to any potential attack on the country, stating that Iran enjoys the required defensive capability to bring down Israel's advanced military aircrafts.

"Be sure that in case of any aggression, the Zionists' F15 and F16 aircrafts will be trapped by our air defense and will be destroyed," Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said.

"And if one of their aircraft manages to escape Iran's air defense - before it can land - the bases from which these aircraft have taken off will be struck by our destructive ground-to-ground missiles," the Commander said in a reaction to Israelis growing war rhetoric against Iran's peaceful nuclear program.

"The Zionists may initiate such a war, but undoubtedly its end will depend on our will," Hajizadeh noted.

The comments came as the Iranian Armed Forces on Sunday started a series of wargames to enhance preparedness of nuclear sites' air defense units for confrontation against possible enemy attacks.

Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Ahmad Miqqani said yesterday that the countrywide exercises, codenamed 'Modafean-e (Defenders) Aseman-e-Velayat 2', are to be conducted in three stages for five days.

Speculation that Israel could bomb Iran mounted since a big Israeli air drill last year. In the first week of June, 2008, 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, which was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran's nuclear installations.

Meantime, a last year study by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a prestigious American think tank, has found that a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities "is unlikely" to delay the country's program.