Iran thinks it can take Israel out with a single strike

[CPTAUSRET]

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/07/front2454123.072222222.htm


Strategist: Iran believes it could destroy Israel with a single nuke

Special to World Tribune.com
GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT.COM
Monday, January 22, 2007

JERUSALEM — Iran's nuclear program seeks first-strike capability against Israel, a leading strategist said.

The Israeli strategist and former intelligence officer said Iran believes it could destroy the Jewish state with one nuclear weapon.

"Iranians believe that it holds, may hold, a first strike capability against Israel once it has a nuclear capability," said Shmuel Bar, director of studies at the Institute of Police and Strategy.

Dr. Shmuel Bar, director of studies at the Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzliya, Israel. Herzliyaconference.org
Iran believes "that Israel is a one-bomb country, one bomb from the point-of-view of the receiving side; that the U.S. would not intervene against Iran under such conditions; and all of that with apocalyptic zeal may result in actual use of nuclear weapons," he said.

Bar, who for years worked in the Israeli intelligence community, told a conference on Jan. 9 that Iran was prepared to destroy Muslim cities as the price for firing nuclear missiles toward Israel. He said the ruling Islamic clergy would support a nuclear attack on Israel even at the risk of killing millions of Palestinian Muslims.

"They're developing weapons both as deterrents and that part of the Iranian regime — the more revolutionary part — has all of the components for developing a doctrine of use of nuclear weapons, as opposed to adoption of using nuclear weapons as deterrents," Bar said. "I think that it's a religious background which brings them to this sort of a doctrine."

Bar said Iran has studied the U.S. wars against the former Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. The chief Iranian lesson was that only nuclear weapons could deter a U.S. attack.

"Nuclear weapons are strategic necessity for deterring the West and Israel and for achieving their strategic goals," Bar said. "Until they arrive at nuclear weapons, Iran's strategic deterrence must rely on terrorism and subversive potential."

Bar said Iran has scored its sole foreign success in the operation of the Hizbullah militia in Lebanon. Hizbullah lost 800 fighters in the war against Israel in the summer of 2006. Bar cited funerals in Lebanon for those termed "holy warriors."

"Whatever they may say, they lost somewhere around 800 men who we can account for," Bar said. "You count the funerals and the names, and you count the names of the people in the documents in south Lebanon."

Copyright © 2007 East West Services, Inc.

Print Article Print this Article Email this article Email Article Subscribe to this Feature Headline Alerts Subscribe to this Feature RSS/XML
GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT

WORLD TRIBUNE.COM HOME PAGE

[CPTAUSRET]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/24/wiran24.xml




N Korea helping Iran with nuclear testing

By Con Coughlin
Last Updated: 2:29am GMT 24/01/2007

# Audio: Con Coughlin analyses the developing crisis

North Korea is helping Iran to prepare an underground nuclear test similar to the one Pyongyang carried out last year.

Under the terms of a new understanding between the two countries, the North Koreans have agreed to share all the data and information they received from their successful test last October with Teheran's nuclear scientists.

South Koreans test gas masks; North Korea aiding Iran in nuclear test
Gas mask sales increased after North Korea's nuclear test

North Korea provoked an international outcry when it successfully fired a bomb at a secret underground location and Western intelligence officials are convinced that Iran is working on its own weapons programme.

A senior European defence official told The Daily Telegraph that North Korea had invited a team of Iranian nuclear scientists to study the results of last October's underground test to assist Teheran's preparations to conduct its own — possibly by the end of this year.

There were unconfirmed reports at the time of the Korean firing that an Iranian team was present. Iranian military advisers regularly visit North Korea to participate in missile tests.

Now the long-standing military co-operation between the countries has been extended to nuclear issues.
advertisement

As a result, senior western military officials are deeply concerned that the North Koreans' technical superiority will allow the Iranians to accelerate development of their own nuclear weapon.

"The Iranians are working closely with the North Koreans to study the results of last year's North Korean nuclear bomb test," said the European defence official.

"We have identified increased activity at all of Iran's nuclear facilities since the turn of the year," he said.

"All the indications are that the Iranians are working hard to prepare for their own underground nuclear test."

The disclosure of the nuclear co-operation between North Korea and Iran comes as Teheran seems set on a collision course with the West over its nuclear programme, although it insists it is entirely peaceful.

Both countries were named in President George W Bush's famous "axis of evil" State of the Union speech in 2002.

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously authorised the imposition of "smart" sanctions against Iran.

This is because of its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment programme, which most Western intelligence agencies believe is part of a clandestine nuclear weapons programme.

France expressed concern yesterday over an Iranian decision to bar 38 UN nuclear inspectors from Iran, claiming that Teheran appeared to be singling out westerners from the inspection team.

Intelligence estimates vary about how long it could take Teheran to produce a nuclear warhead. But defence officials monitoring the growing co-operation between North Korea and Iran believe the Iranians could be in a position to test fire a low-grade device — less than half a kiloton — within 12 months.

The precise location of the Iranian test site is unknown, but is likely to be located in a mountainous region where it is difficult for spy satellites to pick up any unusual activity.

Teheran successfully concealed the existence of several key nuclear sites — including the controversial Natanz uranium enrichment complex — until their locations were disclosed by Iranian dissidents three years ago.

Western intelligence agencies have reported an increase in the number of North Korean and Iranian scientists travelling between the two countries.

The increased co-operation on nuclear issues began last November when a team of Iranian nuclear scientists met their North Korean counterparts to study the technical and political implications of Pyongyang's nuclear test.

The Iranians are reported to have been encouraged by the fact that no punitive action was taken against North Korea, despite the international outcry that greeted the underground firing.

This has persuaded the Iranian regime to press ahead with its own nuclear programme with the aim of testing a low-grade device, which would be difficult for international inspectors to detect.

[hoepoe]

aahh, never a dull moment :-)

But don't they want the capability for peeacefull purposes?

:confused:

I think the time is drawing near to take decisive action to avoid this. I am afraid of a situation where the US is waiting for Israel to deal and Israel waiting for the US to deal and oopps, too late.

Hoepoe

[aricbcool]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/01/24/wiran24.xml

Under the terms of a new understanding between the two countries, the North Koreans have agreed to share all the data and information they received from their successful test last October with Teheran's nuclear scientists.


I thought it was a dud... :confused:

--Aric

[rubberneck]

They might be able to cripple Israel with a single nuke but I am quite sure Iran would cease to exist after what was left of the IDF responded in kind.

It is a very dangerous game that they are playing here and they are playing it with the wrong folks. The Israelis are not in a position to negotiate, it is either kill or be killed for them. If Iran pushes too hard it is quite likely that they will be unpleasantly surprised with the response that they will get. Then again it might take Iran getting wiped off the map to get some folks in that region to wake up and smell the coffee.

[CPTAUSRET]

I believe there are other countries in that part of the world who would dogpile on Israel, should Iran pull the trigger!! I also believe Israel would bring their "A" game, and start throwing Nukes at anyone who made a threatening move!

And if we help them in this endeavor, so be it! With the Dem's in power, it skews everything, and may cause Israel act pre-emptively!

[The Reaper]

I believe that a half-dozen nukes, of proper size and targeting, could bring this country into a depression that would make the 1930s look like boom times.

At the same time, these idiots need to realize that we are sitting on a stockpile of thousands of nukes which are married up with very accurate delivery systems.

We may suffer, but they will all be dead, if we choose to go that route.

TR