Israel isn't leaving anything to chance. The Jerusalem Post reported this week that the Israeli army is drawing up plans for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities on its own. Just in case.
"It is always better to coordinate," one top Defense Ministry official explained last week. "But we are also preparing options that do not include coordination."Iran's nuclear chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh said last week that the country has more than 5,000 centrifuges at its uranium enrichment plant. Israeli intelligence estimates predict Iran will have a nuclear bomb by late next year.
Israeli officials have said it would be difficult, but not impossible, to launch a strike against Iran without receiving codes from the US Air Force, which controls Iraqi airspace. Israel also asked for the codes in 1991 during the First Gulf War, but the US refused.
In September, a Defense News article on an early warning radar system the US recently sent to Israel quoted a US government source who said the X-band deployment and other bilateral alliance-bolstering activities send parallel messages: "First, we want to put Iran on notice that we're bolstering our capabilities throughout the region, and especially in Israel. But just as important, we're telling the Israelis, 'Calm down, behave. We're doing all we can to stand by your side and strengthen defenses, because at this time, we don't want you rushing into the military option.'"
The "US European Command (EUCOM) has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent US military presence on Israeli soil," Defense News wrote. The radar will shave several precious minutes off Israel's reaction time to an Iranian missile launch.
Air Force Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan said in an interview with Der Spiegel the air force would be ready if asked to attack.
Teheran said it didn't take Israel seriously.
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