Israel to start World War III

ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.

Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.

The attack would be the first with nuclear weapons since 1945, when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Israeli weapons would each have a force equivalent to one-fifteenth of the Hiroshima bomb.

Under the plans, conventional laser-guided bombs would open “tunnels” into the targets. “Mini-nukes” would then immediately be fired into a plant at Natanz, exploding deep underground to reduce the risk of radioactive fallout.

“As soon as the green light is given, it will be one mission, one strike and the Iranian nuclear project will be demolished,” said one of the sources.

The plans, disclosed to The Sunday Times last week, have been prompted in part by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s assessment that Iran is on the verge of producing enough enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons within two years.

Israeli military commanders believe conventional strikes may no longer be enough to annihilate increasingly well-defended enrichment facilities. Several have been built beneath at least 70ft of concrete and rock. However, the nuclear-tipped bunker-busters would be used only if a conventional attack was ruled out and if the United States declined to intervene, senior sources said.

Israeli and American officials have met several times to consider military action. Military analysts said the disclosure of the plans could be intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt enrichment, cajole America into action or soften up world opinion in advance of an Israeli attack.

Some analysts warned that Iranian retaliation for such a strike could range from disruption of oil supplies to the West to terrorist attacks against Jewish targets around the world.

Israel has identified three prime targets south of Tehran which are believed to be involved in Iran’s nuclear programme:

# Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges are being installed for uranium enrichment

# A uranium conversion facility near Isfahan where, according to a statement by an Iranian vice-president last week, 250 tons of gas for the enrichment process have been stored in tunnels

# A heavy water reactor at Arak, which may in future produce enough plutonium for a bomb

Israeli officials believe that destroying all three sites would delay Iran’s nuclear programme indefinitely and prevent them from having to live in fear of a “second Holocaust”.

The Israeli government has warned repeatedly that it will never allow nuclear weapons to be made in Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has declared that “Israel must be wiped off the map”.

Robert Gates, the new US defence secretary, has described military action against Iran as a “last resort”, leading Israeli officials to conclude that it will be left to them to strike.

Israeli pilots have flown to Gibraltar in recent weeks to train for the 2,000-mile round trip to the Iranian targets. Three possible routes have been mapped out, including one over Turkey.

Air force squadrons based at Hatzerim in the Negev desert and Tel Nof, south of Tel Aviv, have trained to use Israel’s tactical nuclear weapons on the mission. The preparations have been overseen by Major General Eliezer Shkedi, commander of the Israeli air force.

Sources close to the Pentagon said the United States was highly unlikely to give approval for tactical nuclear weapons to be used. One source said Israel would have to seek approval “after the event”, as it did when it crippled Iraq’s nuclear reactor at Osirak with airstrikes in 1981.

Scientists have calculated that although contamination from the bunker-busters could be limited, tons of radioactive uranium compounds would be released.

The Israelis believe that Iran’s retaliation would be constrained by fear of a second strike if it were to launch its Shehab-3 ballistic missiles at Israel.

However, American experts warned of repercussions, including widespread protests that could destabilise parts of the Islamic world friendly to the West.

Colonel Sam Gardiner, a Pentagon adviser, said Iran could try to close the Strait of Hormuz, the route for 20% of the world’s oil.

Some sources in Washington said they doubted if Israel would have the nerve to attack Iran. However, Dr Ephraim Sneh, the deputy Israeli defence minister, said last month: “The time is approaching when Israel and the international community will have to decide whether to take military action against Iran.”

>>1 "ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities..."
Secret?  Not to anyone with half a brain.  They'd be negligent NOT to have formulated such plans.  I'm quite sure the US has similar plans.

Now, will they do it?  With nukes?  Unlikely.  With conventional weaponry?  Far more likely.  Will WWIII ensue?  Highly unlikely.

iran and saudi arabia to start the next world war. iran is looking to becime the leading shiia muslim nation in the middle east aswell as working on the bomb. if iran develops an atomic bomb then saudi, the leading sunni power in the middle east will no longer feel secure across the gulf, aditionally they wont be under the security of the americans as they have been in the past. so what will the saudi's do? what they always do, get out their checkbooks, which, when considering that they paid for the development of pakistan's nuclear program will mean buying a few bombs from their sunni friends. israel wont come into it untill it comes to choosing sides. why should they ivade iran, their too busy fucking about with the palistinians. iran will flex its muscles and it will share the living shit out of the saudis.

who belives the times... its a load of right wing bullshit. the majority of the stuff published is bias beyond belief. read the independant or guardian for a more balanced view, aswell as right wing papers such as the times or telegraph.

If they want to start another world war they should just jump into the ovens now.. they're good at that!

Iran makes Israel goes kaput - conservatives scream like never before - I cum all over myself with joy.

Israel makes Iran go kaput - leftists scream like never before - I cum all over myself with joy.

Please please please let this go pear-shaped...

Dr Ephraim Sneh, the deputy Israeli defence minister, said last month: “The time is approaching when Israel and the international community will have to decide whether to take military action against Iran.”

Um, since when is Israel part of any international community?

Well, first of all, he said "and the", so your point is moot

Secondly, anyone represented at the U.N. is part of the international community, be it Iran, Iraq or silly places like Andorra.

As regards the story, you can bet the U.S. has plans as well. In fact, the United States has probably drawn up plans to invade any number of countries in the region, and undoubtedly has processes in motion which support opposition to the Islamic regime in Iran with a view to its overthrow.

As regards WW3, I don't see it. The Iranians don't have the bomb, and if an Israeli attack is successful they certainly won't. Furthermore, without a land border of any sort and with the airspace between them consisting of U.S. controlled Iraq and NATO member Turkey, Iran really has no attack capability beyond long range missiles filled with relatively light-weight stuff. The Israelis have seen off Iraqi skuds in the past, and probably possess some sort of anti-missile capability (such as the Patriot), however ineffectual it may be.

I honestly hope the Israelis do it, as it seems clear that Iran has every intention of acquiring nuclear weapons, and knows the west is politically impotent because of the reluctance of the Russians and Chinese to support serious sanctions. All this nonsense about 'can we really lecture them?' and 'doesn't Israel have nukes as well?' is bunch of arse-spittle. Ask yourself this- do you want Iran to be a nuclear power? For the vast majority of us the answer is no, and so there is no reason to be ashamed over the lack of 'fairness' or 'parity' in the current world nuclear system.

We don't want them to have nuclear weapons; no-one does. So should we stop them if we have to? Absolutely. If the Israelis are in a better position than we are to stop them, should we let them? Absolutely.

you all seem to forget that Isreal bombed and destroyed Iraq's Nuclear plant(sold to them by the french, so that's probably why they were against the US going into Iraq in the first place, funny how the drive by media failed to hit on that).  So it would be no surprise if they did.  More power to them,  they take all sorts of shit from the rest of the anti-semetic world that they should be given some lee-way.  Lets remember the whole fracas with syria a few months ago, no one was calling for a cease fire until Isreal started kicking some ass.  Everyone chose to ignore that thier soldiers were kidnapped, and that constant rocket attacks on civilian targets were the cause.

>>9 Saddam Hussein got his shit from Raygun. He has the fucking receipts.

All this nonsense about 'can we really lecture them?' and 'doesn't Israel have nukes as well?' is bunch of arse-spittle. Ask yourself this- do you want Iran to be a nuclear power? For the vast majority of us the answer is no, and so there is no reason to be ashamed over the lack of 'fairness' or 'parity' in the current world nuclear system.

We don't want them to have nuclear weapons; no-one does. So should we stop them if we have to? Absolutely. If the Israelis are in a better position than we are to stop them, should we let them? Absolutely.

Hawkish, drum-beatin', fail. I don't see why Iran can't have nukes- they are as aware of the political and physical consequences of using that weapon as anyone. We are not in a position to lecture, Israel has been the most aggressive in that region and they are a THEOCRATIC REPUBLIC not a DEMOCRACY. (So stop defending them as such.) --- By absolutely no means should we be involved with the Isreali/Palestine conflict. It's not a return to isolationism I'm talking about, but instead it's about doing things objectively and in the name of justice.

You seem to be under the juvenile impression that all of this is about the actual usage of the weapon: Sorry, but that's the spread of fear you're feeling- not self-righteousness. This is about bargaining power and the nations who have nukes just happen to have governments and upper classes that are on the higher end of the GDP/HDI index...do you think that's a coincidence or are you a total fucktard?

Again, I ask, why is it wrong for Iran to want to have or to be in the possession of nukes in the first place? Let's get real here for a second: The greater middle east, no matter how you feel about them, is going to get nukes at some point. It's going to happen. You can't stave off the inevitable. They have every right to project their people and their nation from being robbed by missle-point. We've been doing this shit since WW2...come on guys- the game is up now.

all this talk about strikes and war and shit is a bunch of pussy-speak. i don't want to hear anyone suggesting that anyone else die unless they themselves plan to do the killing or are willing to accept that western lives will be lost in some retaliation somewhere down the road (9/11 stylezzz).

Fucking US bombing Somalia now. I knew the ethiopians didnt have enough resources to smack the Islamic courts by themselves and now the puppetmaster of that little war has made its presence known. I wonder what will happen to the Somali oil...
And Israel must be the weakest country in the world, 4 million jews in a sea of hostile arabs, the only reason they can maintain their position is because the US wants a watchdog and a provocatour in the region, so the arabs cant unite and hike the oilprice. The minute the arab oil is gone, that minute the US trillion dollar investment in Israel is worhtless and that minute the israelis will have to learn to swim. Good luck in a thousand years suckers!

>>9
If i remember correctly were the soldiers kidnapped so that the Hizbollah could have a prisoner exchange with israel. Because you know, israel kidnapped hundreds of lebanese people first, many civilians, and i think that actually had something to do with the kidnapping. And israel bombed civies in lebanon also, they play by the same rules.

!SWEJ, WE

NEVER JEW A JEW