Israel 'super-ready' to attack Iran – Defense Chief

Published time: June 05, 2012 19:51
Edited time: June 05, 2012 23:51
Israel's F-16I fighter jet (AFP Photo/Yoav Lemmer)

Israel is fully prepared to attack Iran if needed, declared Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, saying the military threat is one convincing method of forcing Tehran to give up its nuclear ambitions.

­According to the military chief, “the vectors of international diplomatic isolation, economic pressure and sanctions, disturbances to the [nuclear] project… and a credible military threat” make the list of factors that can influence the direction of Iran's nuclear program.

“In order to be a credible military threat, we must be super-ready, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re super-ready,” Gantz was cited by Israeli media as saying to the country’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

The military official also explained that Tehran has yet to determine whether to use its nuclear capabilities for weapons, but the IDF is prepared for either scenario.

Israel has repeatedly declared that it does not rule out the military option as a tool to curb the Iranian nuclear program.

A close ally of Israel, the US has also assured Tel Aviv that it will do everything to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Tehran insists that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, and despite a lack of any evidence pointing to weapons development, the West is reluctant to believe the assurances.

In the recent rounds of nuclear talks in Baghdad on May 23-24 Tehran refused to suspend its 20 per cent uranium enrichment program, raising more controversy regarding its eventual goals.

The next round of talks will take place this month in Moscow.

Comments (104)

kj (unregistered) 01.08.2012 05:52

Trust me, Iran definitely wants Israel to fire the first shot.  Israel you're not super ready, you're super stupid, reduced to a barking dog.

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David Virgil Dafinoiu (unregistered) 09.07.2012 03:35

The distance from Israeli bases to Iranian nuclear facilities imposes two significant difficulties:

The first involves airspace. Depending on the route selected, Israeli aircraft would have to cross the sovereign airspace of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and/or Turkey both en route and on the return trip. The route over Iraq would be the most direct and  likely, because Iraq effectively has no air defenses and the United  States, after its December withdrawal, no longer has the obligation to defend Iraqi skies. However, each route involves different diplomatic considerations, but Israel has shown a willingness and ability to  operate in foreign airspace for limited periods with little or no  detection and without targeting air defense sites, as in the 2007 raid  on the suspected Syrian nuclear site near Deir al Zur.

A second challenge is that the distance to targets and the size of a possible strike package would require all of Israel’s aerial refueling capability, with little or no margin for equipment or operational failures. Israel has five KC-130s and four 707-based tankers similar to American KC-135s.  A 2009 study estimated a need for 12 tanker equivalents per mission simply to attack Iranian nuclear facilities at Esfahan, Natanz, and Arak (the Fordow facility had not yet been revealed).  Without additional tankers, the fighters would have to refuel twice over the duration of the mission. This need may be somewhat reduced by the fact that Israel is also believed to have “mastered the operation of ‘buddy refueling, using the F-15s’ drop tanks to refuel the shorter-range F-16s en route.

David Virgil Dafinoiu, AGT Intelligence

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Moreand (unregistered) 05.07.2012 15:45

There´s country that needs its own vietnam...

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