'IAF preparing to strike Iran at several hours' notice'

The IAF is preparing for the possibility that it will need to attack Iran's nuclear facilities at several hours' notice, The London Times reported Saturday.

According to an unnamed Israel security official quoted by the paper, "Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours."

"They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality," the source said. "The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words."

According to the paper, such an attack would involve strikes on over a dozen targets, including the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, the uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, the heavy water plant in Arak, as well as moving convoys.

"We would not make the threat [against Iran] without the force to back it," one intelligence official told The Times. "There has been a recent move, a number of on-the-ground preparations, that indicate Israel's willingness to act."

Still, he added, an Israeli assault was unlikely without American approval, even if only implied.

The report stated that the IDF has made several preparations, and is planning several more, in case an attack is required. The recently reported strike on an Iranian arms convoy in Sudan was one such rehearsal. The army's recent purchase of three new Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) was another.

Meanwhile, the paper reported that a nationwide home front exercise planned to take place in the near future will help prepare Israel for the Iranian retaliation that would surely follow any attack.