General Says Iran Can Strike Back at Israel

TEHRAN, Sept. 19 — A senior military official warned on Wednesday that Iran had prepared a plan to attack Israel if Israel bombed Iran, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.

“We have drawn up a plan to strike back at Israel with our bombers if this regime possibly makes a silly mistake,” said the official, Gen. Mohammad Alavi, the deputy commander of Iran’s air force.

General Alavi spoke in the wake of remarks by the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, who said Sunday that nations should prepare for a possible war with Iran if it continued with its nuclear work. Mr. Kouchner and the French Foreign Ministry subsequently toned down the remarks.