"The Israel Air Force recently staged military exercises between Israel and the British colony of Gibraltar near southern Spain, the French magazine L'Express reported on Saturday.
The fact that the drills were held 3,800 kilometers away from Israel "confirms that the Israel Defense Forces is making concrete preparations" to attack Iran over its refusal to cooperate with the international community over its contentious nuclear program, according to L'Express. " Ha'aretz
...........................................................................
""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 message to Iran is that the threat is not just words," one senior Israeli defense official told The Times.
The London Times report appeared to be an Israeli message to Iran conveying its capability and readiness to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons." Ha'aretz
...........................................................................
"Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.
The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.
Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.
“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources.
The plans, disclosed to The Sunday Times last week, have been prompted in part by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s assessment that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons within two years."
Times on Line, 7 January, 2007
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
- This is undoubtedly a message. The big question is whether or not it is a message that that will become a mission if Israel does not have its way. Is it a "bluff?" There is only one way to find out. That is how "bluffs" work. - 3800 kms. is the more or less straight line distance across Jordan and Iraq. - Small yield nuclear weapons? It never made any sense even as a planning drill any other way. - President Peres is supposed to tell President Obama today that Natanyahu is a bit of a wild man who might do anything imaginable if not given what he wants. This is an interesting ploy, but unlikely to work well with Obama and Clinton. - And then one must consider the Jericho force... Taken altogether these indicators point to a massive Israeli psychological campaign intended to push Iran and the US into doing what Israel wants. The big question remains whether or not Israel will do the deed if frustrated. pl
It is about 3200 km. roundtrip from the Israeli coast to Natanz, Iran. Ha'aretz says that the IDF is flying long range training missions to Gibraltar practising in-flight refueling among other things. It is 3800 km. roundtrip to Gibraltar from the Israeli coast.
