Israel stands ready to bomb Iran's nuclear sites
Bushehr nuclear power plant, dome in top center, in Bushehr, Iran
Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem
The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault
on Iran's nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its
new government.
Among the steps taken to ready Israeli forces for what would be a risky
raid requiring pinpoint aerial strikes are the acquisition of three
Airborne Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft and regional missions to
simulate the attack.
Two nationwide civil defence drills will help to prepare the public for the
retaliation that Israel could face.
“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 defence official told The
Times.
Officials believe that Israel could be required to hit more than a dozen
targets, including moving convoys. The sites include Natanz, where
thousands of centrifuges produce enriched uranium; Esfahan, where 250
tonnes of gas is stored in tunnels; and Arak, where a heavy water reactor
produces plutonium.
The distance from Israel to at least one of the sites is more than 870
miles, a distance that the Israeli force practised covering in a training
exercise last year that involved F15 and F16 jets, helicopters and
refuelling tankers.
The possible Israeli strike on Iran has drawn comparisons to its attack on
the Osirak nuclear facility near Baghdad in 1981. That strike, which
destroyed the facility in under 100 seconds, was completed without Israeli
losses and checked Iraqi ambitions for a nuclear weapons programme.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6115903.ece
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