IHS Jane: Iran's Missiles Would Overwhelm Israel's Ballistic Missile Defense System

Iranian missile launchers in a May, 26 2013 display. Iranian Ministry of Defense Photo

Report: New Iranian Missile Launchers Could Overwhelm Israeli Defenses -- USNI News

Iran could have enough launchers to send a salvo of medium range ballistic missiles that would overwhelm Israeli ballistic missile defense systems, according to a Wednesday report from IHS Jane’s.

A May, 26 broadcast on Iranian television showcased a collection of transporter erector launchers (TELs) capable of launching the Iranian Shahab-3 guided ballistic missiles.

“Iranian television footage showed at least 26 TELs lined up in two rows for the event, which marked their purported delivery to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, which operates the country’s ballistic missiles,” according to the report.

The Shahab-3 is based on a North Korean design and is capable striking Israel from Iranian territory.

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My Comment: I suspect that Israel's political and military leadership are aware of Iran's capabilities.

Nuclear War Between Israel And Iran -- An Analysis

What A Nuclear War Between Israel and Iran Would Look Like -- Nick Turse, Real Clear World/TomDispatch

In those first minutes, they'll be stunned. Eyes fixed in a thousand-yard stare, nerve endings numbed. They'll just stand there. Soon, you'll notice that they are holding their arms out at a 45-degree angle. Your eyes will be drawn to their hands and you'll think you mind is playing tricks. But it won't be. Their fingers will start to resemble stalactites, seeming to melt toward the ground. And it won't be long until the screaming begins. Shrieking. Moaning. Tens of thousands of victims at once. They'll be standing amid a sea of shattered concrete and glass, a wasteland punctuated by the shells of buildings, orphaned walls, stairways leading nowhere.

This could be Tehran, or what's left of it, just after an Israeli nuclear strike.

Iranian cities -- owing to geography, climate, building construction, and population densities -- are particularly vulnerable to nuclear attack, according to a new study, "Nuclear War Between Israel and Iran: Lethality Beyond the Pale," published in the journal Conflict & Health by researchers from the University of Georgia and Harvard University. It is the first publicly released scientific assessment of what a nuclear attack in the Middle East might actually mean for people in the region.

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My Comment: This is the nightmare scenario for the Middle East

An Israeli - Arab Defense Pact To Contain Iran?

Israel May Join Defense Pact With Saudi Arabia, UAE -- Times of Israel

Jordan and Turkey to also play role in US-brokered plan to contain, rather than thwart, Iran, London’s Sunday Times reports

Israel is working on joining an anti-Iran defense alliance with a number of moderate Arab states that would involve sharing Jerusalem’s newly developed anti-missile technologies, a British newspaper reported Sunday.

The plan would see Israel join with Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to create a Middle Eastern “moderate crescent,” according to the Sunday Times, which cited an unnamed Israeli official. Israel does not currently maintain formal ties with Riyadh or Abu Dhabi, and relations with Ankara have been strained since 2009.

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Update #1: Israel 'Opting to Contain' Nuclear Iran? -- Arutz Sheva
Update #2: ‘Containing Iran’: Israel ‘in talks’ to join alliance with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey -- RT

My Comment: In view of Israel's air strikes on Syria this week .... these talks (if true) are now probably on hold.

Israeli Prime Minister: Iran Hasn't Crossed Nuclear "Red Line"

Netanyahu draws red line in UN Assembly (Photo: Reuters)

Netanyahu Says Iran Hasn't Crossed Nuclear "Red Line" -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Iran had not crossed the "red line" he set for its nuclear program, despite an assessment to the contrary by a former Israeli intelligence chief.

At the United Nations in September, Netanyahu drew a red line across a cartoon bomb to illustrate the point at which he said Iran will have amassed enough uranium at 20 percent fissile purity to fuel one nuclear bomb if enriched further. He said then that Iran could reach that threshold by mid-2013.

Last week, Amos Yadlin, a former chief of Israeli military intelligence, told a security conference in Tel Aviv that "the Iranians have crossed the red line" Netanyahu drew at the U.N. General Assembly.

Without referring directly to Yadlin, Netanyahu said at a meeting on Monday of his Likud-Beitenu parliamentary faction that Iran's nuclear activities remained short of his benchmark.

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More News On Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Stating That Iran Hasn't Crossed Nuclear "Red Line"

Israeli leader says Iran has not yet crossed nuclear weapons ‘red line’ -- Washington Post/AP
Netanyahu says Iran yet to cross nuclear 'red line' -- Global Post/AFP
Netanyahu Says Iran Hasn’t Yet Crossed His Nuclear ‘Red Line’ -- Bloomberg
PM: Iran hasn't reached 'red line' in nuke program -- Jerusalem post
Netanyahu says Iran hasn't crossed 'red-line' -- YNet News
Iran hasn’t crossed red line… yet, Netanyahu says -- Times of Israel
Analysis: Israeli credibility on line over Iran nuclear challenge -- Crispian Balmer and Dan Williams, Reuters

WNU Editor: Israel's former head of Israel's military intelligence is disagreeing with this assessment.

Israel Points Finger At Iran's Revolutionary Guard For Launching A Drone That Was Shot Down By Israeli Jets

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard May Be Behind Downed Drone -- Times of Israel

Israel assessing that Iranian force, not Hezbollah, launched unmanned aircraft; US asked Israel to show restraint, reports Lebanese daily

Assessments that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces are behind the launch of the drone into Israeli airspace on Thursday are gaining momentum among Israel’s political and security echelons, according to a Ynet report Saturday.

Iranian forces operate on Lebanese soil to aid Hezbollah’s drone capabilities, as well as provide support to the Assad regime, the report said.

Meanwhile, Washington requested that Israel show restraint to the violation of its airspace, a Western security official was quoted by the Lebanese paper An-Nahar as saying on Saturday.

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More News On Israel Blaming Iran For This Weeks Drone Incursion

Israel points finger at Iran over drone -- The Telegraph
Israel suspects Iran behind drone launch from Lebanon -- Israel Hayom
US asks Israel to hold back on response to drone -- Jerusalem Post
Report: US asked Israel not to respond to drone launch -- YNet News
Mixed responses in Lebanon to drone intercepted by Israel -- Haaretz

Iran Dismisses Israeli Threats Of Striking At It's Nuclear Facilities

Iranian forces take part in a parade on the occasion of Iran’s Army Day in the capital city of Tehran, April 18, 2013. Press TV

Iran Dismisses Israel Threat At Ahmadinejad's Last Army Parade -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Israeli threats to attack Iran's nuclear sites are the harmless barking of a dog, Iran's military said on Thursday, marking the last Army Day ceremony of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency with trademark acerbic rhetoric against the Jewish state.

Ahmadinejad, who steps down at elections in June after eight years at the helm of the Islamic Republic's government, has used the podium at previous Army Day parades to lash out at the United States and its allies.

On Thursday Ahmadinejad confined himself to praise of the country's armed forces, and it was Iran's ground forces commander Ataollah Salehi spoke up against Iran's sworn foe.

"A dog does nothing more than bark and we have no confidence in these threats," Iran's state news agency (IRNA) quoted him as saying.

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More News On Iran Dismissing Israeli Threats Of A Military Strike

Iran: Israel incapable of launching military strike on us -- Jerusalem Post
Army Commander Downplays Significance of Israeli War Rhetoric -- Fars News Agency (Iran)
Iran might deters US, Israel only blustering: Iranian cmdr. -- Press TV (Iran)
Israeli Officials Stress Readiness for Lone Strike on Iran -- New York Times

Is Israel Preparing To Attack Iran?

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz in a Knesset committee meeting, March 5, 2013. (photo credit: Flash90)

Israeli Military, Politicos Prep For Solo Attack On Iran -- Washington Times

Israeli military and political heads are holding intense discussions on how best to launch an independent attack on Iran, should the need arise, the nation’s defense force chief said Tuesday.

“The Iranian challenge is very significant and we must approach it with a responsible long-term strategy,” IDF chief Benny Gantz said, The Times of Israel reported. “We will do what is necessary when it is necessary.

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More News On Reports That Israel Is Preparing For A Solo Attack On Iran

Israel can strike Iran nuclear targets alone, IDF head says -- Times of Israel
Gantz: IDF can attack Iran nuke sites on its own -- Jerusalem Post
Gantz, Israeli military chief, says Israel can attack Iran on its own -- JTA
IDF Chief of Staff: Israel capable of striking Iran on its own -- Haaretz
Israel can attack Iran without international help, military chief says -- UPI
Ya'alon: Israel may have to defend itself from nuclear Iran -- YNet News
Ya'alon: Israel may have to face Iran threat alone -- Jerusalem post

My Comment: If these reports are even 50% true .... it is a worrisome development. The impression that I have is that the Israelis are accepting (with great reluctance) the proposition that they must strike Iran's nuclear infrastructure .... and to do so alone. In the past .... there was always some opposition within the Israeli military/intelligence establishment to conduct such a strike. But today .... I do not see it. And the only ones who can stop them are the Americans .... but I cannot help but sense that the White House is AWOL right now.

Iran's Supreme Leader: We Will Destroy Israeli Cities If Attacked

Iran Will Destroy Israeli Cities If Attacked: Khamenei -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Thursday that the Islamic Republic would destroy the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if its nuclear infrastructure came under attack from the Jewish state.

Israel puts little stock in big power negotiations aimed at curbing Iran's uranium enrichment - which Western nations suspect is a conduit to nuclear weapons capability - and has repeatedly hinted at pre-emptive war against its arch-enemy.

During a visit to Israel on Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged its security concerns, saying, "America will do what we must to prevent a nuclear Iran." But he also said big powers believed there was still time for a diplomatic solution.

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More News On Iran's Supreme leader Threatening The Destruction Of Israel If Attacked

Iran's Khamenei: We will destroy Israeli cities if attacked -- Haaretz/AP/Reuters
Iran’s leader vows to annihilate Tel Aviv, Haifa if Israel attacks -- Washington Post/AP
Iran’s Khamenei Threatens to ‘Annihilate’ Tel Aviv -- ABC News
Iran fires warning to Israel -- Euronews
Iran Vows To Destroy Israeli Cities If Attacked -- Radio Free Europe
Iran will destroy Israel cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if attacked – Supreme leader -- RT
Khamenei: Iran will 'raze Tel Aviv' -- UPI
'We Will Destroy Tel Aviv' Warns Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei -- International Business Times
Khamenei: Iran will destroy Tel Aviv, Haifa if attacked -- YNet News
Iran’s supreme leader threatens to raze Tel Aviv, Haifa -- Times Of Israel

The ‘Shadow War’ Between Israel And Iran Rages On

‘Shadow War’ Between Israel, Iran Rages On As Obama Visits -- Washington Times

Mossad tactics may lead to friction with the CIA.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions may loom large, but lurking in the shadow of President Obama’s highly anticipated visit to Israel this week is a protracted and secretive war already being waged between Jerusalem and Tehran.

Analysts and former officials say the “shadow war,” featuring suicide bombings and clandestine attacks from Eastern Europe to Asia and the Middle East, is a potential source of friction between individuals at the CIA and Israel’s lead intelligence agency, the Mossad.

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My Comment: The CIA does not have much leverage in this "shadow war" .... Iran's intelligence agencies do not speak to the CIA, and Mossad will do what Mossad wants.

President Obama And Israeli PM Netanyahu Discuss Iran

Obama: Not Much Difference with Israel on Iran Nuclear Assessment -- Voice of America

JERUSALEM — U.S. President Barack Obama says there is not much difference between U.S. and Israeli assessments of how close Iran is to potentially developing a nuclear weapon.

Speaking alongside Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Wednesday on the first day of a four-day Middle East trip, Obama said he would not expect his host to defer any decisions about military action to another country - even a close ally such as the United States. He repeated the U.S. position that "all options" are on the table for stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but said there is still time to resolve the issue diplomatically.

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More News On President Obama And Israeli PM Netanyahu Discussing Iran

Obama: U.S. will work closely with Israel to prevent nuclear Iran -- Haaretz/AP/Reuters
Obama says 'there is still time' to find diplomatic solution to Iran nuke dispute; Netanyahu hints at impatience -- NBC
Obama says 'still time' for diplomacy with Iran, Netanyahu suggests time running short -- FOX News
Obama: Not a lot of daylight between Israel and US on Iran -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters
Obama pledges unshakeable US support for Israel, resolve against Iran’s nuclear aims -- Washington Post
Obama, Netanyahu united in preventing nuclear-armed Iran -- USA Today
Obama Says Israel Has Right to Guard Against Iran Threat -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Netanyahu, hinting at Iran, says Israel cannot cede self-defense -- Reuters
Peres to Obama: We trust you on Iran -- Politico
Israeli president says his nation trusts US policy on preventing Iranian nuclear weapon -- Washington Post/AP
Iran would need around a year to build Atomic bomb: Israel -- Reuters

More Warnings From Israel On Iran's Nuclear Program

Israeli Scorns US Faith In Diplomatic Solution To Iran's Nuclear Ambitions -- The Telegraph

Vice-President Joe Biden said the US government believes "there is still time and space" for diplomatic engagement with Iran, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Iran was using negotiations "to buy time to press ahead with it's nuclear programme."

A powerful pro-Israel lobby group in Washington heard from both American and Israeli leaders about close ties between the two countries in the face of terror threats, as Barack Obama plans his first visit to Israel as US President.

Arguing the US and Israel have a shared interest in preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, which Israel views as an existential threat, US Vice-President Joe Biden told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that the US believes "there is still time and space" for a diplomatic solution.

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More News On Warnings From Israel On Iran's Nuclear Program

Iran closer to nuclear 'red line': Israel -- The Australian
PM: Words alone won't stop Iran nuclear weapon -- Jerusalem Post
Netanyahu Warns Iran Stalling While Biden Presses Talks -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Netanyahu: 'Credible military threat' needed to stop Iran nuclear drive -- Reuters
Netanyahu: "Credible" military threat needed to stop Iran's nuclear program -- CBS
Obama not bluffing over Iran military threat, Biden tells Aipac -- The Guardian
Biden on Iran threat: Obama is not bluffing -- Bloomberg Businessweek/AP

Israel’s Strike On Syria Last Month Killed Top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander

‘Israel’s Strike On Syria Last Month Killed Top Iranian General’ -- Times Of Israel

Hassan Shateri, whose death was announced last week, actually died in January bombing of Hezbollah-bound weapons convoy, says UK report

Hassan Shateri, the Iranian general whose killing was reported last week, was actually slain last month in an alleged IAF airstrike that was said to have targeted a weapons convoy heading from Syria to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Britain’s Sunday Times reported.

Iran was quick last week to blame “mercenaries and supporters” of Israel for Shateri’s death, although it made no indication that he had been killed in the January airstrike. Tehran “will take revenge on Israel for the killing of a Quds Force general in Syria,” said Ali Shirazi, liaison for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force.

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My Comment: I suspect that there is more to this story than what they are telling us. This top Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander was in the region for a long time .... why the decision to kill him now?

Iran Blames Israel For The Assassination Of A Top Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander

Slain Iranian general Hassan Shateri (photo credit: mashreghnews.ir)

Israel Blamed For Death Of Iranian General In Lebanon -- Times of Israel

Hassan Shateri of the Revolutionary Guard assassinated by ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ news site claims.

Israel is being blamed for the death of a senior commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon on Wednesday.

An Iranian independent news website reported early Thursday morning that Gen. Hassan Shateri was killed by “mercenaries of the Zionist regime,” but provided no details about his death. The semi-official FARS news agency confirmed the report a few hours later.

Guards spokesman Gen. Ramazan Sharif was quoted by Fars as saying “mercenaries and supporters” of Israel were responsible.

Shateri led Guard forces in Lebanon and oversaw Iranian-financed reconstruction projects there, aiding Hezbollah both financially and by training its members.

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More News On Iran Blaming Israel For The Assassination Of A Top Iranian Revolutionary Guard General

Suspected Israeli agents kill IRGC cmdr.in Syria -- Press TV
Tehran Accuses Israel of Killing Top Iranian Official -- Arutz Sheva
Has Israel Assassinated An Iranian IRGC Official? -- Radio Free Europe

My Comment: Other Iranian websites are blaming Syria's rebels. Bottom line .... they do not know who was responsible for this assassination.

Why Iran Is Losing Its Covert War With Israel

Spy Fail: Why Iran Is Losing Its Covert War With Israel -- Karl Vick, Time

Slumped in a Nairobi courtroom, suit coats rumpled and reading glasses dangling from librarian chains, the defendants made a poor showing for the notorious Quds Force of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ahmad Abolafathi Mohammed and Sayed Mansour Mousa had been caught red-handed and middle-aged. And if the latter did them a certain credit — blandly forgettable always having been a good look for a secret agent — the prisoners still had to explain why they had hidden 15 kg of the military explosive RDX under bushes on a Mombasa golf course.

Created to advance Iran’s interests clandestinely overseas, the Quds Force has lately provided mostly embarrassment, stumbling in Azerbaijan, Georgia, India, Kenya and most spectacularly in Thailand, where before accidentally blowing up their Bangkok safe house, Iran’s secret agents were photographed in the sex-tourism mecca of Pattaya, one arm around a hookah, the other around a hooker. In its ongoing shadow war with Israel, the Iranian side’s lone “success” was the July 18 bombing of a Bulgarian bus carrying Israeli tourists — though European investigators last week officially attributed that attack to Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hizballah. That leaves the Islamic Republic itself with a failure rate hovering near 100% abroad and an operational tempo — nine overseas plots uncovered in nine months — that carries a whiff of desperation. A Tehran government long branded by U.S. officials as the globe’s leading exporter of terrorism may be cornering the market on haplessness.

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My Comment: So Iran has been sloppy. But I suspect that if their focus was there coupled with a degree of professionalism they would instead be very capable of causing havoc and mayhem on an international scale.

The Shadow War Between Iran And Israel

The Shadow War Between Iran and Israel: The Bulgaria Front -- Karl Vick, Time

Raymonde Siboni saw the bus driver come apart in front of her. The Bulgarian man took the full impact of the blast wave that carried Siboni over the black rubber steps she had just climbed, through the door the tour guide had hurried her through — “Come on, you’re the last one” — and into a moment of unconsciousness. When she awoke, the Israeli woman found herself sprawled on the parking lot outside the Black Sea airport where she had arrived, barely half an hour earlier, in search of relaxation. “We used to go to Turkey,” says her husband Gadi. “Cyprus a few times. In Greece it’s a little bit messy; we don’t want to take any chances. So we heard about Bulgaria. Lots of Israelis go there.”

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My Comment: This shadow has taken a pause in the past 6 months. For the moment Iran's focus is on the civil war in Syria, and trying their best to make sure that their ally Assad remains in power .... Israel is probably number three on their list. Number two is sanctions and the internal pressures that result because of it.

Was Yesterday's Israeli Strike In Syria A Very-Small-Scale Dress Rehearsal For A Military Strike Against Iran?

The U.S. said the target was a truck convoy carrying weapons bound for Hezbollah (Baz Ratner/REUTERS)

Israel’s Strike On Syria As A Dress Rehearsal For Conflict With Iran -- Washington Post

The Israel-Iran standoff, in which Israel has long signaled its willingness to strike suspected Iranian nuclear sites if they come too close to producing a weapon, got a sort of very-small-scale dress rehearsal on Wednesday. The Israeli air force attacked a target inside Syria, Tehran’s closest ally, which set off the expected condemnations (from Syria, Iran, Russia and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah) and fears of reprisal.

Both Israel and Iran will likely be observing the fallout from the attack closely, trying to determine what it might say about how an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would play out in the region. It’s too early to say what, if anything, they could learn. But the possibility that they might extrapolate lessons about a potential Israel-Iran conflict gives added significance – and added risk – to every action and reaction in the coming hours and days.

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My Comment: I would have to say that this was not a dress rehearsal for a military strike against Iran. Launching a military strike against Iran would involve enormous resources .... resources that the Israelis just do not have. But if they were to launch a strike, it would be to drag in the international community on a political level and to use them as a lever to stop Iran's nuclear program. I call this the "Hail Mary's pass" .... if all fails just ratch-up the pressure and let the outside powers come in and sort out the mess. Is this feasible .... I personally think not .... but who knows what they are thinking (or what they are intending to do) in Jerusalem .... and maybe that was one of the points on why yesterday's Israeli action was approved.

Israeli Defense Minister: Pentagon Plans May Make Lone Strike On Iran Unnecessary

Defense Minister Ehud Barak Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

Barak: US Has 'Surgical Operation' Plan Against Iran -- Jerusalem Post

Defense minister challenges idea that operation against Iran would develop into "full fledged war the size of the Iraq war."

The United States has prepared plans for a "surgical" military operation to delay Iran's nuclear program in the event that diplomatic efforts to thwart Tehran's drive for nuclear weapons capability fail, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with The Daily Beast on Friday.


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More News On Ehud Barak's Comments That The U.S. May Make Lone Strike on Iran Unnecessary

Ehud Barak at Davos: U.S. Could Strike Iran to Block Nuclear Progress -- Daily Beast
Israeli Official Hints Pentagon Plans May Make Lone Strike on Iran Unnecessary -- New York Times
Israel may rely on US 'scalpels' to contain Iran – defense minister -- RT
US has plans for surgical strikes on Iran, says Israel's Barak -- Trend.az

My Comment: He is putting too much trust in how the White House will respond to Iran .... but considering the limits of Israel's ability to respond to Iran, he really does not have a choice.

Update: Pentagon official confirms plan exists to attack Iran -- Globes

Iran Has An Intelligence Station On The Golan Heights That Spies On Israel

UN peacekeepers monitor the Syrian side of the Israeli-Syrian border from an army post at Mount Bental in the Golan Heights last July (photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)

Iran Spying On Israel From Syria, Says Pentagon -- Times Of Israel

Signals intelligence stations, including one in the Golan, are meant to supply information to Hezbollah.

Iran has been spying on Israel for years, with the help of its allies in Syria, according to a report published by the Pentagon and reported on Sunday by the World Tribune.

Signals intelligence stations are reportedly being set up by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) throughout the Middle East, and the US believes they are meant to supply information on Israel to the Lebanese-based terrorist group Hezbollah.

One of the SIGINT stations is located in the Syrian part of the Golan Heights, according to the Pentagon.

The report, entitled “Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security: A Profile,” was authored by the US Department of Defense with the help of Congress. It stated that “two Iranian-Syrian [signals intelligence] stations funded by the IRGC reportedly have been active since 2006, one in the Al Jazirah region in northern Syria and the other on the Golan Heights.

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More News On Iran Maintaining A Listening Post On The Golan Heights Overlooking Israel

U.S. report says Iran expanding intel ops -- UPI
US report: Iran running listening station in Golan -- Jerusalem Post
Report: Iran gathering info on Israel from Syria -- YNet News
Report: Iran Built Listening Stations in Golan to Spy on Israel -- Algemeiner
US report: Iran gathering intelligence on Israel in Syria -- YNet News
Report: Iran collected intelligence on Israel from Syria -- Jerusalem Post
Iran Spying on Israel from Syria -Report -- Spyghana
Iranian Intelligence Collection in Syrian Side of Golan Heights -- Israel Defense

My Comment: Any bets that in the event of hostilities between Israel and Syria .... this signet station will probably be bombed on the same day.

Is Israel Wasting Billions In Developing Attack Plans Against Iran?

Netanyahu Denies Wasting Money on Iran Attack Plans -- New York Times

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed allegations by predecessor Ehud Olmert that he wasted billions of dollars preparing for a strike on Iran that did not take place.

Olmert, who once led the centrist Kadima party, told Israel's Channel 2 television on Friday that 11 billion shekels (about $3 billion) were wasted on "illusionary security escapades that have not been implemented and will not be implemented".

Olmert, prime minister from 2006 to 2009, did not mention Iran by name but Israeli media said his meaning was clear in the attack on Netanyahu in the run-up to a January 22 parliamentary election.

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My Comment: $3 billion dollars spent in planning attacks strategies .... I doubt it. Unless you include purchasing equipment, the ordinance (i.e. bunker busting bombs), etc. .... but even then .... $3 billion spent .... I still have my doubts.

Israel PM Netanyahu: Iran Not Yet Crossed Red Line

Netanyahu shows an illustration during his speech at the U.N. on Sept. 27, 2012. (Keith Bedford/Reuters)

PM To Ambassadors: Iran Not Yet Crossed Red Line -- Jerusalem Post

Netanyahu meets envoys, but Amidror's criticism not raised in meeting; PM warns Hamas could take control of the PA "any day."

Iran has not yet crossed the red line that Israel set on its nuclear program, and Israel remains determined to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.

Netanyahu was speaking at the last session of the annual year-end meeting in the Foreign Ministry for Israel’s ambassadors serving abroad.

During a speech at the UN in September, Netanyahu drew a red line on a picture of a bomb signifying when Tehran would be 90% on the way to development of a bomb – meaning before it had acquired enough enriched uranium to build a nuclear detonator if it so decided. He said Iran would not likely pass that line until the spring or summer.

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My Comment: On other Iran nuclear news .... The Iranians are saying that talks with the big powers will be held in January .... but the EU does not know what they are talking about.