@@ JEWmedia never gets tired of publishing lies, and PsyOps @@
Arash
December 11, 2005
Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran
Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv
Sarah Baxter in Washington
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Israel's armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be
ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in
Iran, military sources have revealed.
The order came after Israeli intelligence warned the government that Iran was
operating enrichment facilities, believed to be small and concealed in civilian
locations.
Iran’s stand-off with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over nuclear
inspections and aggressive rhetoric from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president,
who said last week that Israel should be moved to Europe, are causing mounting
concern.
The crisis is set to come to a head in early March, when Mohamed El-Baradei, the head
of the IAEA, will present his next report on Iran. El-Baradei, who received the Nobel
peace prize yesterday, warned that the world was “losing patience” with Iran.
A senior White House source said the threat of a nuclear Iran was moving to the top
of the international agenda and the issue now was: “What next?” That question would
have to be answered in the next few months, he said.
Defence sources in Israel believe the end of March to be the “point of no return”
after which Iran will have the technical expertise to enrich uranium in sufficient
quantities to build a nuclear warhead in two to four years.
“Israel — and not only Israel — cannot accept a nuclear Iran”, Sharon warned
recently. “We have the ability to deal with this and we’re making all the necessary
preparations to be ready for such a situation”.
The order to prepare for a possible attack went through the Israeli defence ministry
to the chief of staff.
Sources inside special forces command confirmed that “G” readiness — the highest
stage — for an operation was announced last week.
Gholamreza Aghazadeah, head of the Atomic Organisation of Iran, warned yesterday that
his country would produce nuclear fuel. “There is no doubt that we have to carry out
uranium enrichment”, he said.
He promised it would not be done during forthcoming talks with European negotiators.
But although Iran insists it wants only nuclear energy, Israeli intelligence has
concluded it is deceiving the world and has no intention of giving up what it
believes is its right to develop nuclear weapons.
A “massive” Israeli intelligence operation has been underway since Iran was
designated the “top priority for 2005”, according to security sources.
Cross-border operations and signal intelligence from a base established by the
Israelis in northern Iraq are said to have identified a number of Iranian uranium
enrichment sites unknown to the the IAEA.
Since Israel destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, “it has been
understood that the lesson is, don’t have one site, have 50 sites”, a White House
source said.
If a military operation is approved, Israel will use air and ground forces against
several nuclear targets in the hope of stalling Tehran’s nuclear programme for years,
according to Israeli military sources.
It is believed Israel would call on its top special forces brigade, Unit 262 — the
equivalent of the SAS — and the F-15I strategic 69 Squadron, which can strike Iran
and return to Israel without refuelling.
“If we opt for the military strike”, said a source, “it must be not less than 100%
successful. It will resemble the destruction of the Egyptian air force in three hours
in June 1967”.
Aharon Zeevi Farkash
(http://www.sedmoykanal.com/data/images/2002/01/24/farkash-300.jpg), the Israeli
military intelligence chief, stepped up the pressure on Iran this month when he
warned Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, that “if by the end of March the
international community is unable to refer the Iranian issue to the United Nations
security council, then we can say the international effort has run its course”.
The March deadline set for military readiness also stems from fears that Iran is
improving its own intelligence-gathering capability. In October it launched its first
satellite, the Sinah-1, which was carried by a Russian space launcher.
“The Iranians’ space programme is a matter of deep concern to us”, said an Israeli
defence source. “If and when we launch an attack on several Iranian targets, the last
thing we need is Iranian early warning received by satellite”.
Russia last week signed an estimated $1 billion contract — its largest since 2000 —
to sell Iran advanced Tor-M1 systems capable of destroying guided missiles and
laser-guided bombs from aircraft.
“Once the Iranians get the Tor-M1, it will make our life much more difficult”, said
an Israeli air force source. “The installation of this system can be relatively quick
and we can’t waste time on this one”.
The date set for possible Israeli strikes on Iran also coincides with Israel’s
general election on March 28, prompting speculation that Sharon may be sabre-rattling
for votes.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the frontrunner to lead Likud into the elections, said that if
Sharon did not act against Iran, “then when I form the new Israeli government, we’ll
do what we did in the past against Saddam’s reactor, which gave us 20 years of
tranquillity”.
TEHRAN MINISTER MET MILITANTS BEFORE NEW OFFENSIVE
Iran’s foreign minister met leading figures from three Islamic militant groups to
co-ordinate a united front against Israel days before a recent escalation of attacks
against Israeli targets shattered fragile ceasefires with Lebanon and the
Palestinians, writes Hugh Macleod in Damascus.
The minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, held talks with leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and
Hezbollah in Damascus on November 15.
Among those who attended the meeting were Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas leader, and a
deputy leader of Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for last Monday’s
suicide bombing of a shopping mall in Netanya that killed five Israeli citizens.
Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General
Command, was also present. “We all confirmed that what is going on in occupied
Palestine is organically connected to what is going on in Iraq, Syria, Iran and
Lebanon”, said Jibril.
Seven days after the talks, Hezbollah fired a volley of rockets and mortars at
Israeli targets, sparking the fiercest fighting between the two sides since Israel’s
withdrawal from south Lebanon five years ago.
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