After Gaza, it’s going to be Iran…
During a recent speech to the jews in Australia, the israeli ambassador had a slip up and made a comment about attacking Iran.
“A realignment of forces that can handle and can address the main strategic challenge that we’re all going to face in the upcoming month, and that’s going to be Iran.” — yuval rotem
An Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program “will most probably take place before 2009″, western intelligence sources say. Israel now has completed the planning of three or four scenarios for an attack, and is now said to be contemplating the right time for it. Israel concluded early June that an attack would be inevitable. Since then, Israeli Air Force exercises have been underway, even using a US airbase in Iraq.
Israel’s military planners see a rapidly closing window of opportunity: an attack must essentially be air-based, and since Iran will have its Russian-purchased S-300 air defense systems fully operational by year’s end, an attack after that is believed to result in too many losses to ensure minimal success. The S-300 systems can take out aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missile warheads at ranges of over 90 miles and at altitudes of about 90,000 feet, with great effectiveness.
Last month’s Israeli exercise over the Mediterranean, code-named ‘Glorious Spartan’, took place in cooperation with the Greek military. Greece uses the S-300 air defense system, and thus the exercise can be expected to have provided Israel with valuable information about that system.
Sources would not comment on an intel rumor that an Israeli strike is to be expected in the near future -there is talk of “weeks”. This rumor is based on the fact that Iran in recent months hastily began upgrading its current air defense systems, as well as on the expectation that the upgrade will be integrated and fully operational within weeks from now, thus raising possible Israeli losses in case of an attack. Intel rumors that a strike may come soon are furthermore fed by the fact that Iran is nearing completion of its P2-type nuclear centrifuge which decimates the time needed to enrich uranium.
Source: http://www.ifamericansknew.org
