Israel readies forces to bomb Iran

[Grimmlok]

Yay, world war 3...

Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran
Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv, and Sarah Baxter, Washington



ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed.
The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian locations.



Iran’s stand-off with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over nuclear inspections and aggressive rhetoric from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, who said last week that Israel should be moved to Europe, are causing mounting concern.

The crisis is set to come to a head in early March, when Mohamed El-Baradei, the head of the IAEA, will present his next report on Iran. El-Baradei, who received the Nobel peace prize yesterday, warned that the world was “losing patience” with Iran.

A senior White House source said the threat of a nuclear Iran was moving to the top of the international agenda and the issue now was: “What next?” That question would have to be answered in the next few months, he said.

Defence sources in Israel believe the end of March to be the “point of no return” after which Iran will have the technical expertise to enrich uranium in sufficient quantities to build a nuclear warhead in two to four years.

“Israel — and not only Israel — cannot accept a nuclear Iran,” Sharon warned recently. “We have the ability to deal with this and we’re making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation.”

The order to prepare for a possible attack went through the Israeli defence ministry to the chief of staff. Sources inside special forces command confirmed that “G” readiness — the highest stage — for an operation was announced last week.

Gholamreza Aghazadeah, head of the Atomic Organisation of Iran, warned yesterday that his country would produce nuclear fuel. “There is no doubt that we have to carry out uranium enrichment,” he said.

He promised it would not be done during forthcoming talks with European negotiators. But although Iran insists it wants only nuclear energy, Israeli intelligence has concluded it is deceiving the world and has no intention of giving up what it believes is its right to develop nuclear weapons.

A “massive” Israeli intelligence operation has been underway since Iran was designated the “top priority for 2005”, according to security sources.

Cross-border operations and signal intelligence from a base established by the Israelis in northern Iraq are said to have identified a number of Iranian uranium enrichment sites unknown to the the IAEA.

Since Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, “it has been understood that the lesson is, don’t have one site, have 50 sites”, a White House source said.

If a military operation is approved, Israel will use air and ground forces against several nuclear targets in the hope of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme for years, according to Israeli military sources.

It is believed Israel would call on its top special forces brigade, Unit 262 — the equivalent of the SAS — and the F-15I strategic 69 Squadron, which can strike Iran and return to Israel without refuelling.

“If we opt for the military strike,” said a source, “it must be not less than 100% successful. It will resemble the destruction of the Egyptian air force in three hours in June 1967.”
Aharon Zeevi Farkash, the Israeli military intelligence chief, stepped up the pressure on Iran this month when he warned Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, that “if by the end of March the international community is unable to refer the Iranian issue to the United Nations security council, then we can say the international effort has run its course”.



The March deadline set for military readiness also stems from fears that Iran is improving its own intelligence-gathering capability. In October it launched its first satellite, the Sinah-1, which was carried by a Russian space launcher.

“The Iranians’ space programme is a matter of deep concern to us,” said an Israeli defence source. “If and when we launch an attack on several Iranian targets, the last thing we need is Iranian early warning received by satellite.”

Russia last week signed an estimated $1 billion contract — its largest since 2000 — to sell Iran advanced Tor-M1 systems capable of destroying guided missiles and laser-guided bombs from aircraft.

“Once the Iranians get the Tor-M1, it will make our life much more difficult,” said an Israeli air force source. “The installation of this system can be relatively quick and we can’t waste time on this one.”

The date set for possible Israeli strikes on Iran also coincides with Israel’s general election on March 28, prompting speculation that Sharon may be sabre-rattling for votes.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the frontrunner to lead Likud into the elections, said that if Sharon did not act against Iran, “then when I form the new Israeli government, we’ll do what we did in the past against Saddam’s reactor, which gave us 20 years of tranquillity”.

oh boy..

[big kahuna]

Grimm, I will agree with you on this one. If Israel takes the offensive in any war, it will indeed result in WW3. The issue there is the US will be expected to join, as will the allies. Repercussions down the line.

[Grimmlok]

Well I doubt any Arab nation will go after Israel in retaliation.. none of them are nuclear armed, and Israel has nukes to spare as well as the means to deliver them to the nations within its sphere.

Tick tock, tick tock..

[SVZ]

For a pending international war, this seems very petty to me.

[Sojiita]

I thought I read somewhere that Israel is believed to have over 200 nukes???

[Tsarina]

what no one saw this coming? these people have been throwing rocks at each since jesus was a baby.

just wish i had a nice place to hide from the nuclear rocks. Lol

[Hazeleyed_Honey]

yup,Israel thinks they have the authority to bomb everyone else's nuclear enrichment program. They bombed Saddam's in 1988. When infact, they are the ones who for SURE are proven to have nukes.

[Grimmlok]

To be fair, Israel doesn't really threaten to wipe Arab nations off the map every couple of days.

I'm pretty sure that if the Arabs left them alone, Israel wouldn't give a crap.

[UndercoverGator]

It's the end of this world as we know it.

Bet Pat Robertson is jumping for joy.

[big kahuna]

To be fair, Israel doesn't really threaten to wipe Arab nations off the map every couple of days.

I'm pretty sure that if the Arabs left them alone, Israel wouldn't give a crap.

My goodness, I agree with you again. The sky is falling.

Israel wants to be left alone, however if threatened they are like a pack of africanized bees. They are well armed, well financed, and have what the US has lacked, killer instinct.

[Hazeleyed_Honey]

To be fair, Israel doesn't really threaten to wipe Arab nations off the map every couple of days.

I'm pretty sure that if the Arabs left them alone, Israel wouldn't give a crap.

Israel had nukes for decades now. There was no recent Arab leader that I can think of that stated to wipe off Israel-it was the Persian president who did. When they bombed Saddam's nuclear program research facility in 88', Saddam did not threaten to nuke them at that time. They just want to be the ONLY ones to have nukes in that region so they remain the great power. Just like the U.S. wants to be the only one to have the biggest supply of nukes to remain the hegemony in the world.

And if Israel stopped the occupation of the Palestinians and the Apartheid the Palestinians are living under, then I am sure the Arabs would leave Israel alone.

Those Arab countries see Israel as a threat because of the Zionist belief belief of the Promised Land stretching from the Nile River in Israel to the Euphrates in Iraq. Israel gave the Sinai back to Egypt,but they are still occupying Syria's Golan Heights.

[Grimmlok]

I tink dey all need to take a chill pill, you know..

[piperdiva]

yup,Israel thinks they have the authority to bomb everyone else's nuclear enrichment program. They bombed Saddam's in 1988. When infact, they are the ones who for SURE are proven to have nukes.

*cough* you think it's OK for people like Saddam to have a nuclear program? Remember what happened to the Kurds. Also, Israel did not threaten Iran by saying the country should be wiped off the map.

[piperdiva]

Those Arab countries see Israel as a threat because of the Zionist belief belief of the Promised Land stretching from the Nile River in Israel to the Euphrates in Iraq. Israel gave the Sinai back to Egypt,but they are still occupying Syria's Golan Heights.

This quote should actually be in the religion forum, as it is written in the Torah that these should be the borders of Israel.

Personally, regarding the Torah/Bible, the erotic moments are more of an interesting read.

[Luna]

I don't blame Israel for taking this stance and I'm glad the U.S. has had their back in the past but we already have ourselves so fücked up with Iraq, we're in no position to involve ourselves. Alas I'm sure Bush will feel, what's a few more billion in debt, giddy up!