"Israel" Maintains Silence on Rehearsal of Attack against Iran
Source: Al-Manar TV, 22-06-2008
Amid reports that the ‘Israeli' Air Force recently conducted a massive drill as a "dress rehearsal" for an attack against Iran, The Jerusalem Post has learned that the IAF significantly increased the number of overseas drills it has participated in over the past two years.
The long-range flight exercises, many of which have included mid-air refueling, have taken place in the United States, Canada, Europe and Sardinia, as well as throughout the Mediterranean Sea.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that ‘Israel' carried out a major military drill over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of June that US sources say was apparently a rehearsal for a potential attack on Iran's nuclear sites. According to the report, more than 100 IAF F-16 and F-15 fighter jets took part in the exercise.
The drill also included IAF rescue helicopters and refueling tankers that flew around 1,500 km., according to the report, which is approximately the distance between ‘Israel' and Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.
On Saturday, the Times of London quoted an ‘Israeli' political official as saying the exercise was a "dress rehearsal" for a future attack on Iran.
The ‘Israeli' occupation army would neither confirm nor deny the reports and in recent briefings with the press, air force brass have refrained from any mention of preparations for such an attack, other than saying that the "IAF was prepared for all the threats Israel faces."
In response to the report in The New York Times, the ‘Israeli' army Spokesman's Office issued a statement saying the army "regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by the threats facing ‘Israel'."
The increase in training outside of ‘Israel' is mainly to prepare pilots for long-range flights and to allow them to test various munitions intended for long-range air strikes.
US officials confirmed the reports on the exercise and said it was "impossible to miss" and may have been meant as a show of force as well as practice with the skills needed to execute a long-range strike.
"They have been conducting some large-scale exercises - they live in a tough neighborhood," one US official said, though he offered no other recent examples.
‘Israel' is increasingly concerned by reports that Iranian soldiers are training with the advanced S-300 air defense missile system in Russia, although the ‘Israeli' war establishment believes that Teheran has not yet obtained the system. ‘Israel' has been working diplomatically to prevent the sale and delivery of the system.
The S-300 is one of the best multi-target anti-aircraft missile systems in the world and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time.
The timing of the IAF exercise fits into ‘Israeli' assessments that the United States will not take military action against Iran before the end of President George W. Bush's term in January. On June 6, Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a newspaper interview that if Iran continued its nuclear program, ‘Israel' "will attack it."
The week before Mofaz made his comments, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said ‘Israel' had a viable military option, and last Sunday former deputy war minister Ephraim Sneh said he believed that ‘Israel' would, in the end, need to attack Iran.
Iran on Saturday also criticized the ‘Israeli' drill. The official IRNA news agency quoted a government spokesman as saying that the exercises demonstrate that ‘Israel' "jeopardizes global peace and security."
Amid reports that the ‘Israeli' Air Force recently conducted a massive drill as a "dress rehearsal" for an attack against Iran, The Jerusalem Post has learned that the IAF significantly increased the number of overseas drills it has participated in over the past two years.
The long-range flight exercises, many of which have included mid-air refueling, have taken place in the United States, Canada, Europe and Sardinia, as well as throughout the Mediterranean Sea.
On Friday, The New York Times reported that ‘Israel' carried out a major military drill over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of June that US sources say was apparently a rehearsal for a potential attack on Iran's nuclear sites. According to the report, more than 100 IAF F-16 and F-15 fighter jets took part in the exercise.
The drill also included IAF rescue helicopters and refueling tankers that flew around 1,500 km., according to the report, which is approximately the distance between ‘Israel' and Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz.
On Saturday, the Times of London quoted an ‘Israeli' political official as saying the exercise was a "dress rehearsal" for a future attack on Iran.
The ‘Israeli' occupation army would neither confirm nor deny the reports and in recent briefings with the press, air force brass have refrained from any mention of preparations for such an attack, other than saying that the "IAF was prepared for all the threats Israel faces."
In response to the report in The New York Times, the ‘Israeli' army Spokesman's Office issued a statement saying the army "regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by the threats facing ‘Israel'."
The increase in training outside of ‘Israel' is mainly to prepare pilots for long-range flights and to allow them to test various munitions intended for long-range air strikes.
US officials confirmed the reports on the exercise and said it was "impossible to miss" and may have been meant as a show of force as well as practice with the skills needed to execute a long-range strike.
"They have been conducting some large-scale exercises - they live in a tough neighborhood," one US official said, though he offered no other recent examples.
‘Israel' is increasingly concerned by reports that Iranian soldiers are training with the advanced S-300 air defense missile system in Russia, although the ‘Israeli' war establishment believes that Teheran has not yet obtained the system. ‘Israel' has been working diplomatically to prevent the sale and delivery of the system.
The S-300 is one of the best multi-target anti-aircraft missile systems in the world and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time.
The timing of the IAF exercise fits into ‘Israeli' assessments that the United States will not take military action against Iran before the end of President George W. Bush's term in January. On June 6, Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a newspaper interview that if Iran continued its nuclear program, ‘Israel' "will attack it."
The week before Mofaz made his comments, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said ‘Israel' had a viable military option, and last Sunday former deputy war minister Ephraim Sneh said he believed that ‘Israel' would, in the end, need to attack Iran.
Iran on Saturday also criticized the ‘Israeli' drill. The official IRNA news agency quoted a government spokesman as saying that the exercises demonstrate that ‘Israel' "jeopardizes global peace and security."
