Israeli TV report shows air force gearing up for Iran attack, says moment of truth is near. A major Israel TV station on Sunday night broadcast a detailed report on how Israel will go about attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in the event that diplomacy and sanctions fail and Israel decides to carry out a military strike.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign up! The report, screened on the main evening news of Channel 10, was remarkable both in terms of the access granted to the reporter, who said he had spent weeks with the pilots and other personnel he interviewed, and in the fact that his assessments on a strike were cleared by the military censor. No order to strike is likely to be given before the P5+1 talks with Iran resume in May, the reporter, Alon Ben-David, said. “But the coming summer will not only be hot but tense.” Israel's Secret Staging Ground - By Mark Perry.
In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel.
" The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface. " Why does it matter? Because Azerbaijan is strategically located on Iran's northern border and, according to several high-level sources I've spoken with inside the U.S. government, Obama administration officials now believe that the "submerged" aspect of the Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance -- the security cooperation between the two countries -- is heightening the risks of an Israeli strike on Iran.
Israel's Secret Staging Ground - By Mark Perry. In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel.
" The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface. " Why does it matter? Hamas, Iran coordinate response to Israel strike. Lebanese paper says Haniyeh discussed Hamas' role in case of Israeli strike on Iran with Tehran officials Lebanese newspaper al-Mustaqbal reported Tuesday that the purpose of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar's recent visit to Iran was to define Gaza's role in the case Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities.
Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza Haniyeh visited Tehran last February while al-Zahar arrived at the Iranian capital earlier this month. According to the report, the parties discussed the introduction of missiles into the Gaza Strip in preparation for a conflict with Israel, which would enable Hamas to retaliate with rocket fire. Hamas has previously declared it will not take part in a conflict between Israel and Iran. Related stories: Israelis Grow Confident Strike on Iran’s Nukes Can Work. In 2005, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then Israel’s finance minister, made an official visit to Uganda.
For Netanyahu, visits to Uganda are weighted with sadness. It was at the airport in Entebbe that his older brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, was shot dead by a Ugandan soldier. Yonatan was the leader of an Israeli commando team dispatched by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in July 1976 to rescue Jewish hostages held by pro-Palestinian terrorists. The terrorists had diverted an Air France flight to Uganda, where the then-dictator, the infamous Idi Amin, gave them refuge. The raid was a near-total success. CIA, Mossad Agree That Iran is Not Pursuing Nuclear Weapons. Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, agrees with the American intelligence assessments, even while Israeli political leaders have been pushing for quick, aggressive action to block Iran from becoming what they describe as an existential threat to the Jewish state.
“Their people ask very hard questions, but Mossad does not disagree with the U.S. on the weapons program,” said one former senior American intelligence official, who, like others for this article, would speak only on the condition of anonymity about classified information. “There is not a lot of dispute between the U.S. and Israeli intelligence communities on the facts.” Israel asks U.S. for arms that could aid Iran strike. US offered Israel advanced weaponry in exchange for delaying Iran attack: report. WASHINGTON — The US offered to give Israel advanced weaponry — including bunker-busting bombs and refueling planes — in exchange for Israel’s agreement not to attack Iranian nuclear sites, Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Thursday.
President Obama reportedly made the offer during Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week. Southern Exposure: Iran, Terror Groups Setting Up Shop in South America - DOTMIL. Iran and Middle East-based extremist groups are stepping up their activities in South America, aiming to make friends and score cash, a senior U.S. military official says.
Tehran intends to build military drones in Washington's backyard for the Venezuelan military led by Hugo Chavez, U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Douglas Fraser told reporters Wednesday during a breakfast meeting in Washington. Pressed by DOTMIL about the unmanned aerial vehicles' capabilities, Fraser dubbed it "a fairly limited-capacity UAV. " "I would put it in the Scan Eagle class of UAV," Fraser said.
[Photo Gallery: Iran Flexes Military Muscle in Persian Gulf.] The Southern Command chief was referring to two U.S. Fraser said it's unclear what kinds of missions Venezuelan officials will send the Iranian drones. Israel’s Channel 2: U.S. Officials Believe Netanyahu Has Already Decided to Strike Iran# Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday.
Photo: Israel PM Office. Oil leaps to highest level since mid-2008. Iran’s underground nuclear sites not immune to U.S. bunker-busters, experts say. U.S. officials say they have no imminent plan to bombard the site, and they have cautioned that an American attack — or one by its closest Middle Eastern ally, Israel — risks devastating consequences such as soaring oil prices, Iranian retaliation and dramatically heightened tension in a fragile region.
Yet as a matter of physics, Fordow is far more vulnerable than generally portrayed, said current and former military and intelligence analysts. Massive new “bunker buster” munitions recently added to the U.S. arsenal would not necessarily have to penetrate the deepest bunkers to cause irreparable damage to infrastructure as well as highly sensitive nuclear equipment, probably setting back Iran’s program by years, officials said. The weapons’ capabilities are likely to be a factor in discussions with a stream of Israeli leaders arriving in Washington over the next week. ‘How many turns do you get?’ The U.S. To U.S. military planners, a “zone of immunity,” if it exists at all, is years away. Russia upgrades radar station in Syria to aid Iran. JERUSALEM — Russia has upgraded a surveillance station it maintains in Syrian territory in order to provide Iran early warning of an Israeli attack, according to the Israeli security-related blog Debkafile. The surveillance station, located south of Damascus, had been able to monitor air traffic in Israel as far south as Tel Aviv, as well as northern Jordan and western Iraq.
Since the upgrade, its range reportedly extends to all parts of Israel and Jordan and as far south as the northern part of Saudi Arabia. According to the report, Russia has introduced cutting-edge technology to the station and expanded its manpower. Russia has taken a firm stand against any military attack on Iran or any attempt to force Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said this week that Russia is concerned about the threat of an attack against Iran. “If it happens, the fallout would be truly catastrophic,” he said, also warning that any outside attempt to displace Mr.
Israel faces resistance over Iran strike. IRAN: US/Israeli False Flag Attack May Be Underway. Israel, Kurdish fighters destroyed Iran nuclear facility, email released by WikiLeaks claims. Putin: Iran nuclear issue must be settled peacefully. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said the consequences of a military strike against Iran would be disastrous. If Iran cooperates, sanctions must be lifted, Putin saysWestern sanctions target Iran's financial and oil sectorsNow the prime minister, Putin is running for president againThis would be Putin's third term as president (CNN) -- The consequences of a military strike against Iran would be disastrous, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin wrote in a wide-ranging editorial Monday. "Russia is worried about the growing threat of a military strike against Iran," Putin said in an editorial carried by the RIA Novosti news agency.
"If this happens, the consequences will be disastrous. It is impossible to imagine the true scope of this turn of events. " The former Russian president, who is running for the post again, said he's convinced the issue must be settled by peaceful means. Iran prepares for kamikaze attacks. Text smaller Text bigger Even as it continued to talk with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Iran continued to prepare for war over its nuclear weapons program, training for kamikaze attacks in the Persian Gulf with both planes and speedboats, sources within the Iranian armed forces report. Tuesday the International Atomic Energy Agency called its recent talks with Iran a failure. Iran, Lebanon talk defence ties, slam Israel. 'US to announce aerial blockade on Syria' US readies for possibility of intervention without UN resolution, Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing US military official; plan to include humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees on Turkey's border The Pentagon is readying for the possibility of intervention in Syria, aiming to halt Syrian President Bashsar Assad's violent crackdown on protesters, the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday, citing a US military offical.
According to the official, the intervention scenario calls for the establishment of a buffer zone on the Turkish border, in order to receive Syrian refugees. 'Iran ready to wipe Israel off the map' Iran uncooperative, International Atomic Energy Agency says. NEW: The U.S. calls on Iran to provide "full and genuine transparency to the IAEA""Iran has not moved to a more advanced program," says one analystIran did not block inspectors from a key nuclear site, Iranian official saysIAEA inspectors left Iran Tuesday after what the agency called a disappointing visit (CNN) -- Iran has stepped up efforts to produce enriched uranium in violation of international resolutions to stop, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday in a report posted online by a nonproliferation group.
Iran. Iran suspends oil exports to France, UK. Iran exports 2.2 million barrels of oil a day, 18% of which is bound for European markets, according to the EIA. Other customers will "replace French and British companies," an Iranian oil ministry spokesman saysThe EU sanctions are meant to force Iran to provide more information on its nuclear programIran exports 2.2. million barrels of oil daily, 18% of which is bound for European markets Tehran (CNN) -- Iran's oil ministry announced Sunday that it had stopped crude exports to British and French companies. The order came several days after Iran threatened to cut oil exports to some European Union countries in retaliation for sanctions put in place by the EU and the United States in January, a ministry spokesman said in a statement.
"Iran has no difficulty in selling and exporting its crude oil. ... We have our own customers and have designated alternatives for our oil sales. Iran exports 2.2 million barrels of oil a day, 18% of which is bound for European markets, according to the U.S. Will Iran tensions lead to war? Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a divisive figure in his country, says analyst Meir Javedanfar. Iran threatens pre-emptive action against 'enemies' - World news - Mideast/N. Africa - Iran. News Headlines. Iran stops oil sales to British, French companies. US officials believe Iran sanctions will fail, making military action likely. Officials in key parts of the Obama administration are increasingly convinced that sanctions will not deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear programme, and believe that the US will be left with no option but to launch an attack on Iran or watch Israel do so.