>The Israeli military is increasing its readiness to conduct air strikes on nuclear sites across Iran, should the new government in Jerusalem decide such action is necessary, the London Times reported Saturday (see GSN, April 17).
(Apr. 20) -
Israeli strikes on Iran would likely target the country’s Arak heavy-water reactor, shown in 2006 (Getty Images).
Israel, the United States and some European nations suspect that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at weapons development, a charge that Tehran has denied.
"Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light, they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours," a high-level defense official said. "They are making preparations on every level for this eventuality. The message to Iran is that the threat is not just words."
“We would not make the threat (against Iran) without the force to back it. There has been a recent move, a number of on-the-ground preparations, that indicate Israel's willingness to act,” one Israeli intelligence official said. These moves include the purchase of three Airborne Warning and Control aircraft and performing of attack scenarios.
The primary threat facing Israel is the possible rise of "a radical regime armed with nuclear weapons," new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said in a likely allusion to Iran.
An attack could target more than one dozen Iranian nuclear facilities, including the Arak heavy-water reactor, the Natanz uranium enrichment complex and the Isfahan nuclear fuel fabrication site, sources told the Times. Jerusalem has publicly denied that it plans to use military force against Iran (see GSN, April 16).
The United States is not likely to endorse an Israeli attack on Iran, according to Ephraim Kam, deputy head of the Institute for National Security Studies.
"The American defense establishment is unsure that the operation will be successful. And the results of the operation would only delay Iran's program by two to four years,” Kam said (Sheera Frenkel, London Times, April 18).
China is prepared to moderate new multilateral negotiations with Iran over its disputed atomic activities, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday.
“China respects Iran’s nuclear program for peaceful purposes, resolutely safeguards the international nonproliferation system and advocates that the Iranian nuclear issue should be peacefully resolved through negotiation,” the Xinhua News Agency quoted Wen as saying at a meeting with Parviz Davoodi, first vice president of Iran.
Iran was willing to discuss the nuclear issue with other countries, Davoodi said. He added though, "We care more about actions" (Deutsche Presse-Agentur/Khaleej Times, April 18).