Text 18726, 63 rader
Skriven 2005-12-15 13:08:12 av SHANNON TALLEY (1:275/311)
Ärende: Israeli strike on Iran
==============================
Rabinovich, A. (2005). Sharon prepares for strike on Iran. API, Retrieved 
Dec 15, 2005

ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered his armed forces to be 
prepared to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities by the end of March, 
according to a report in The Sunday Times [Jerusalem]. The operation would 
involve both air and ground attacks against widely scattered sites where 
Iran is developing its nuclear capability, according to the report. Citing 
unnamed Israeli security sources, the newspaper said that Israel would 
employ its F-15I warplanes, which can reach Iran from Israel and return 
without refuelling, as well as crack commando forces.

Israeli military intelligence chief Aharon Zeevi Farkash told a Knesset 
committee last week that if Iran's nuclear weapons development program was 
not halted by the end of next March it would have reached the point of no 
return. Mr Sharon said this month that Israel was letting the international 
community take the lead in the effort to stop the Iranian program. However, 
he added that Israel "cannot accept" the possibility of Iran acquiring 
nuclear weapons.

Tensions have been heightened by recent statements by Iranian President 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for "wiping this scourge of shame (Israel) from 
the Islamic world" and expressing doubt that the Holocaust had happened. 
Last week, Mr Ahmadinejad suggested that the Jewish state be moved to 
Europe. The Sunday Times report said Israeli intelligence officers, 
operating out of the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, had penetrated Iran and 
used electronic intercepts to identify hitherto unknown uranium enrichment 
sites. These, the report said, were disguised as civilian structures and had 
gone undetected by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA head 
Mohamed ElBaradei has recently stepped up his warnings about Iran's nuclear 
program.

He told British newspaper The Independent last week that if the enrichment 
plant at Natanz became fully operational, Iran could be only months away 
from nuclear weapons. But he warned Israel against attempting to stop the 
program militarily. An attack, he said, would likely only delay the Iranian 
program while providing Tehran with motivation for revenge.

Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom yesterday called on the UN to 
urgently impose sanctions against Tehran to prevent it from proceeding with 
its nuclear plans. "To think that a mad regime like this will have nuclear 
weapons is a nightmare for the entire world."

In 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor just before it 
came on line, effectively delaying Baghdad's nuclear program for years. But 
Tehran has drawn lessons from the event and scattered its nuclear efforts 
over many sites, some of them deep underground and some in civilian areas. 
Most military experts agree that their complete elimination would be 
extremely difficult.

The Sunday Times offers a quote from a source who appears to think 
differently. "If we opt for the military strike," the source said, "it must 
be not less than 100per cent successful. It will resemble the destruction of 
the Egyptian air force in three hours in June, 1967 (the Six Day War)". 
Israel has hitherto kept a relatively low profile on the Iranian issue, 
preferring to have the international community not expect Israel to resolve 
the issue militarily.

Rabinovich, A. (2005). Sharon prepares for strike on Iran. API, Retrieved 
Dec 15, 2005 

--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5a
 * Origin: FidoTel & QWK on the Web! www.fidotel.com (1:275/311)