Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Iran says missiles can hit anywhere in Israel

"It appears that Iran is rattling its sabre for fear of a pre-emptive strike by Israel or the United States -- however grounded in fact such fears are or are not," a senior Israeli defence source told Reuters on Sunday.

The senior Israeli defense source does not deny that either Israel or the United States will conduct a pre-emptive strike against Iran. He admits that such fears could be grounded in fact.

Many diplomats and defence experts say air strikes against Iran's nuclear plants are unlikely to disable Tehran's nuclear capability, much of which has been built underground, and could prompt a swift military reaction from Iran.

Note: The United States plans to develop an experimental 30,000-pound (13,600 kg) bomb, the biggest in its inventory, aimed at destroying deeply buried targets beyond the reach of existing bombs.
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Interest in a big penetrating bomb is growing in some US defence circles, including the Defense Science Board (DSB), the senior policy advisory panel to the Secretary of Defense. It recommended in its February 2004 report on 'Future Strategic Strike Forces' that the Department of Defense "immediately undertake" a demonstration of a "bomber-delivered massive penetrator" weapon as part of a family of ultra-large bombs that would "improve conventional attack effectiveness against deep, expansive, underground tunnel facilities".

http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw040726_1_n.shtml

-Am


Iran says missiles can hit anywhere in Israel

August 15, 2004 4:45 PM


By Paul Hughes

TEHRAN (Reuters) - A senior Iranian military official has said Israel and the United States would not dare attack Iran since it could
strike back anywhere in Israel with its latest missiles, news agencies have reported.

Iranian officials have made a point of highlighting the Islamic state's military capabilities in recent weeks in response to some
media reports that Israeli or U.S. warplanes could try to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities in air strikes.

Iran last week said it carried out a successful test firing of an upgraded version of its Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile.
Military experts said the unmodified Shahab-3 was already capable of striking Israel or U.S. bases in the Gulf.

"The entire Zionist territory, including its nuclear facilities and atomic arsenal, are currently within range of Iran's advanced
missiles," the ISNA students news agency quoted Yadollah Javani, head of the Revolutionary Guards political bureau, as saying on
Sunday.

"Therefore, neither the Zionist regime nor America will carry out its threats" against Iran, he said.

An attack on Iran "could only be carried out by angry or stupid people. For that reason, officials of the Islamic Republic must
always be prepared to counter possible military threats," Javani said in a statement, ISNA reported.

ISRAEL READIES MISSILE-KILLER

U.S. and Israeli officials accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies.

Israel's Arrow missile defence system, designed to counter threats such as the Shahab-3, passed its first live test in July by
downing a Scud missile off the coast of California.

Israeli officials say they plan further tests in the near future against threats which more closely resemble the Shahab-3.

"Such statements by Iran only serve to demonstrate the need for Israel to maintain and further develop defensive systems such as
the Arrow II," a senior Israeli defence source told Reuters on Sunday.

"It appears that Iran is rattling its sabre for fear of a pre-emptive strike by Israel or the United States -- however grounded in fact
such fears are or are not," the source said.

Israeli warplanes successfully destroyed the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981.

But many diplomats and defence experts say air strikes against Iran's nuclear plants are unlikely to disable Tehran's nuclear
capability, much of which has been built underground, and could prompt a swift military reaction from Iran.

Since its 1979 Islamic revolution Iran has refused to recognise Israel's right to exist and allied itself to the Palestinian cause.


Reuters


http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5146411