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SharkieJones · 05-23-06, 19:45

Israel, eyeing Iran, seeks long-range missiles
5/23/2006 7:26:00 PM GMT

A U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile

"The issue of Iran is a very serious one," Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told CNN last Sunday, adding that Tehran’s alleged quest for nuclear weapons “can be measured by months rather than years". Asked if he expected U.S. and European pressure to halt Iran’s uranium enrichment program, Olmert replied: "I prefer to take the necessary measures to stop it, rather than find out later that my indifference was so dangerous."

Israel has come to view Iran as its number one enemy, alarmed by Tehran’s nuclear program and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map". Olmert’s comments indicate that Israel is already considering launching a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites soon. This speculation was heightened after top Israeli security officials said that the Israeli government speeded up efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles that could be used against the Islamic Republic.

Escalating anti-Iranian rhetoric, Israel’s former army chief claimed last week that Tehran is working on developing long-range missiles which could threaten the whole of Europe. "Iran already has surface-to-surface missiles capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads with a 1,500 (930 miles) kilometer range but it will in the future have missiles with a range of 5,000 kilometers, which will threaten the whole of Europe," Aharon Zeevi told a conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.

All indications show that Israel does not plan to rely on either the United Nations or the United States in resolving the Iranian nuclear dispute. The U.S. Vice President Cheney said 18 months ago that the “Israelis may well decide to act first and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards."

However, any Israeli action against Tehran couldn’t take place without a green light from the White House. This wasn’t the case when Israeli warplanes destroyed Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor in 1981 during the Iran-Iraq war. But the greater ranges to Tehran’s nuclear sites might make planes less efficient to execute the operation. Israeli defense analysts say that radar-evading cruise missiles, designed to locate and strike distant targets, are more practical than warplanes.

At Israel's National Day reception in Washington last month, an Israeli official, speaking privately and not fore attribution, said he believed that Israel would strike Iran in the next “month or two or three”, suggesting that fighter bombers wouldn’t be involved as they were to take out Iraq's Osiraq and that cruise missiles would be used. Asked about the difficulty of destroying Iran’s nuclear sites given the fact that they’re widely scattered across the country, the Israeli official said that Israel has its own geo-stationary spy-in-the-sky satellite taking constant pictures of Iran with a resolution down to 70 centimeters. "We know far more than anyone realizes," he said.

Israel, the 4th largest military power in the world, is the only nuclear power in the Middle East and the world’s sixth country to acquire atomic weapons, a title its government has never admitted nor denied. Despite its policy of nuclear ambiguity, Israel’s nuclear arsenal is estimated between 200 and 300 warheads. Unlike Iran, the Jewish state refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows its signatories to research, develop and produce nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes.

According to an article on the World Peace Herald, Israel developed about 100 Jericho-II medium-range ballistic missiles, which has a range between 1,500 to 3,500 kilometers, depending on payload weight. There are also unconfirmed reports of an upgraded Jericho-3 missile with a range of over 3,000 kilometers. The missiles could be deployed in underground caves and silos.

Moreover, the Jewish state has several satellites in orbit, including Ofeq-1 through Ofeq-5 and the recent Eros B spy satellite which is specifically designed to spy on Iran's nuclear sites and defense installations and is capable of capturing images on the ground as small as 70 centimeters.

Only the United States and Russia are known to have mastered all aspects of cruise missiles’ production. And Washington has turned out past Israeli requests to purchase the long-range cruise missiles. "A top priority has been put on developing this technology, in light of the Iran situation, as well as improving the Arrow," an Israeli security source told Reuters, referring to the anti-missile ballistic defense system designed by state-run Israel Aircraft Industries.

In 2004, Jane’s Defense Weekly said that Israel Military Industries had fielded the country's first cruise missile, but noted that its range was only around 300 km (190 miles). Moreover, previous media reports stated that the government arms manufacturer Rafael created at least a prototype cruise missile by attaching a jet booster to its medium-range Popeye missile.

Israel’s efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles were sped up after the U.S. turned down an Israeli request to purchase its Tomahawk cruise missiles in 2000, during peace talks with Syria. The Israeli government claimed at the time that it would need the missiles to make up for the loss of "strategic depth" if it wants to return the occupied Golan Heights to Syria. But the Israeli request went unmet, and defense experts said Washington’s rejection was to avoid an arms race in the Middle East.

"The United States would not want to export such a capable weapon at such sensitive times," said Jane's analyst Robert Hewson, noting that Tomahawks can carry nuclear warheads.

The Iranian nuclear program is on top of Olmert’s agenda on his first visit to Washington, which began on Monday. An Olmert confidant said after a White House summit on Tuesday that Israel would renew its request for Tomahawks. Israel might also argue that Olmert’s unilateral plan to leave parts of the occupied West Bank, while keeping large settlements, would cost Israel strategic depth that would need to be balanced with better weapons. "

"It (Tomahawk) was requested in the past. I believe it will be requested again, especially in light of the kind of threats Israel is facing in the future," the Olmert confidant said.

Israeli defense analyst Alon Ben-David suggested that Washington might end up selling the Tomahawks to the Israelis in order to curb Israel’s rival cruise missile program. "If the Americans discover that Israel is close to a credible cruise-missile capability, I expect they will be quick to curb it by finally coming up with the Tomahawks," he said.

However, some Israeli defense experts expressed skepticism about the usefulness of Tomahawks against Iran’s nuclear facilities that are heavily fortified than Iraq’s Osiraq.

Its worth mentioning that the Tomahawks are guided by a coded global positioning system network controlled by the Pentagon, meaning any Israeli launch would have to be approved by Washington. This is extremely alarming after media reports suggested that the U.S. is readying plans to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations and topple its regime. The U.S. State Department's top proliferation official recently said the Bush Administration is determined to ensure that "not one centrifuge spins in Iran." It is clear that Israel is certainly poised to stop the spinning.

05-23-06, 19:45	#58 (permalink)
SharkieJones Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3,150	Israel Making Plans for Iran Israel, eyeing Iran, seeks long-range missiles 5/23/2006 7:26:00 PM GMT A U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missile "The issue of Iran is a very serious one," Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told CNN last Sunday, adding that Tehran’s alleged quest for nuclear weapons “can be measured by months rather than years". Asked if he expected U.S. and European pressure to halt Iran’s uranium enrichment program, Olmert replied: "I prefer to take the necessary measures to stop it, rather than find out later that my indifference was so dangerous." Israel has come to view Iran as its number one enemy, alarmed by Tehran’s nuclear program and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map". Olmert’s comments indicate that Israel is already considering launching a strike on Iran’s nuclear sites soon. This speculation was heightened after top Israeli security officials said that the Israeli government speeded up efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles that could be used against the Islamic Republic. Escalating anti-Iranian rhetoric, Israel’s former army chief claimed last week that Tehran is working on developing long-range missiles which could threaten the whole of Europe. "Iran already has surface-to-surface missiles capable of being equipped with nuclear warheads with a 1,500 (930 miles) kilometer range but it will in the future have missiles with a range of 5,000 kilometers, which will threaten the whole of Europe," Aharon Zeevi told a conference in Tel Aviv on Monday. All indications show that Israel does not plan to rely on either the United Nations or the United States in resolving the Iranian nuclear dispute. The U.S. Vice President Cheney said 18 months ago that the “Israelis may well decide to act first and let the rest of the world worry about cleaning up the diplomatic mess afterwards." However, any Israeli action against Tehran couldn’t take place without a green light from the White House. This wasn’t the case when Israeli warplanes destroyed Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor in 1981 during the Iran-Iraq war. But the greater ranges to Tehran’s nuclear sites might make planes less efficient to execute the operation. Israeli defense analysts say that radar-evading cruise missiles, designed to locate and strike distant targets, are more practical than warplanes. At Israel's National Day reception in Washington last month, an Israeli official, speaking privately and not fore attribution, said he believed that Israel would strike Iran in the next “month or two or three”, suggesting that fighter bombers wouldn’t be involved as they were to take out Iraq's Osiraq and that cruise missiles would be used. Asked about the difficulty of destroying Iran’s nuclear sites given the fact that they’re widely scattered across the country, the Israeli official said that Israel has its own geo-stationary spy-in-the-sky satellite taking constant pictures of Iran with a resolution down to 70 centimeters. "We know far more than anyone realizes," he said. Israel, the 4th largest military power in the world, is the only nuclear power in the Middle East and the world’s sixth country to acquire atomic weapons, a title its government has never admitted nor denied. Despite its policy of nuclear ambiguity, Israel’s nuclear arsenal is estimated between 200 and 300 warheads. Unlike Iran, the Jewish state refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows its signatories to research, develop and produce nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes. According to an article on the World Peace Herald, Israel developed about 100 Jericho-II medium-range ballistic missiles, which has a range between 1,500 to 3,500 kilometers, depending on payload weight. There are also unconfirmed reports of an upgraded Jericho-3 missile with a range of over 3,000 kilometers. The missiles could be deployed in underground caves and silos. Moreover, the Jewish state has several satellites in orbit, including Ofeq-1 through Ofeq-5 and the recent Eros B spy satellite which is specifically designed to spy on Iran's nuclear sites and defense installations and is capable of capturing images on the ground as small as 70 centimeters. Only the United States and Russia are known to have mastered all aspects of cruise missiles’ production. And Washington has turned out past Israeli requests to purchase the long-range cruise missiles. "A top priority has been put on developing this technology, in light of the Iran situation, as well as improving the Arrow," an Israeli security source told Reuters, referring to the anti-missile ballistic defense system designed by state-run Israel Aircraft Industries. In 2004, Jane’s Defense Weekly said that Israel Military Industries had fielded the country's first cruise missile, but noted that its range was only around 300 km (190 miles). Moreover, previous media reports stated that the government arms manufacturer Rafael created at least a prototype cruise missile by attaching a jet booster to its medium-range Popeye missile. Israel’s efforts to develop long-range cruise missiles were sped up after the U.S. turned down an Israeli request to purchase its Tomahawk cruise missiles in 2000, during peace talks with Syria. The Israeli government claimed at the time that it would need the missiles to make up for the loss of "strategic depth" if it wants to return the occupied Golan Heights to Syria. But the Israeli request went unmet, and defense experts said Washington’s rejection was to avoid an arms race in the Middle East. "The United States would not want to export such a capable weapon at such sensitive times," said Jane's analyst Robert Hewson, noting that Tomahawks can carry nuclear warheads. The Iranian nuclear program is on top of Olmert’s agenda on his first visit to Washington, which began on Monday. An Olmert confidant said after a White House summit on Tuesday that Israel would renew its request for Tomahawks. Israel might also argue that Olmert’s unilateral plan to leave parts of the occupied West Bank, while keeping large settlements, would cost Israel strategic depth that would need to be balanced with better weapons. " "It (Tomahawk) was requested in the past. I believe it will be requested again, especially in light of the kind of threats Israel is facing in the future," the Olmert confidant said. Israeli defense analyst Alon Ben-David suggested that Washington might end up selling the Tomahawks to the Israelis in order to curb Israel’s rival cruise missile program. "If the Americans discover that Israel is close to a credible cruise-missile capability, I expect they will be quick to curb it by finally coming up with the Tomahawks," he said. However, some Israeli defense experts expressed skepticism about the usefulness of Tomahawks against Iran’s nuclear facilities that are heavily fortified than Iraq’s Osiraq. Its worth mentioning that the Tomahawks are guided by a coded global positioning system network controlled by the Pentagon, meaning any Israeli launch would have to be approved by Washington. This is extremely alarming after media reports suggested that the U.S. is readying plans to destroy Iran’s nuclear installations and topple its regime. The U.S. State Department's top proliferation official recently said the Bush Administration is determined to ensure that "not one centrifuge spins in Iran." It is clear that Israel is certainly poised to stop the spinning.