Israel's military is drafting a plan to unilaterally attack Iranian atomic sites capable of supporting nuclear weapons development, the Jerusalem Post reported today (see GSN, Dec. 3).
(Dec. 4) -
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit yesterday expressed support for efforts to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran (Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/Getty Images).
Still, Israel hopes it would conduct any potential air strike on Iran with support from the United States, which shares Tel Aviv's concern that Tehran's nuclear program could be aimed at building a nuclear bomb (see GSN, Nov. 26). Iran insists its nuclear program is strictly peaceful.
"It is always better to coordinate," a high-level Israeli defense official said last week. "But we are also preparing options that do not include coordination."
According to Israeli government sources, a ban on crossing U.S.-occupied Iraq would pose a difficult but surmountable challenge to the Israeli military. Tel Aviv has previously and unsuccessfully requested U.S. Air Force permission to enter Iraqi airspace.
"There are a wide range of risks one takes when embarking on such an operation," a senior Israeli official noted.
However, some Israeli officials suggested that an attack is not immediately urgent, noting that Iran could not enrich enough uranium for a bomb until late next year. In addition, the country's economy has faltered in the face of lowered oil prices and international sanctions, they said.
"There is still time and there is no need to rush into an operation right now," another official added. "The regime there is already falling apart and will likely no longer be in power 10 years from now."
One U.S. official characterized Washington's military assistance to Israel as a balancing act.
"First, we want to put Iran on notice that we're bolstering our capabilities throughout the region, and especially in Israel," the official told Defense News in September. "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'" (Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, Dec. 4).
An Israeli lawmaker added: “There is always the option of Israel going it alone. It just does not seem like a good option at present time,” the London Times reported today.
One Israeli defense official expressed doubt that a unilateral Israeli strike could destroy all of Iran's nuclear facilities, which are geographically dispersed and some of which are underground.
“We could not risk an operation which would only partially succeed," the official said. "That would leave us open to a nuclear attack from Iran’s remaining weapons stock. Israel would likely need the support, the backing, of forces from a Western ally to successfully carry out the operation.”
Israeli officials identified three primary nuclear sites of concern in Iran: the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, the Isfahan uranium conversion plant and the Arak heavy-water reactor (Sheera Frenkel, London Times, Dec. 4).
Meanwhile, Egypt yesterday backed collaborative efforts to hinder Iran's possible nuclear weapons drive, Agence France-Presse reported.
"Egypt supports international efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said.
However, he cautioned against the use of military force to resolve the nuclear dispute (Agence France-Presse/Google News, Dec. 3).
Elsewhere, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said it would monitor Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant when it starts operations next year, Iran's Fars News Agency reported.
"Examinations conducted by the agency's inspectors will make sure ... that [the] Bushehr nuclear facility will be operated and used according to what is done in all nuclear power plants in the world," IAEA official Christer Viktorsson said during a trip to Tehran.
Iran has made security and environmental arrangements for the Bushehr plant and the U.N. nuclear watchdog has reassured neighboring states about the facility's safety, he added (Fars News Agency, Dec. 2).