 Israel inched a step closer to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the Iron Dome successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests held in southern Israel this week. The tests were overseen by the Defense Ministry, the Israeli Air Force and the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. which has developed and is manufacturing the Iron Dome, slated to become operational and deployed along the Gaza border in the middle of 2010. The missile barrages that the system succeeded in intercepting included a number of rockets that mimicked Kassam and longer-range Grad-model Katyusha rockets that are known to be in Hamas's arsenal. The Iron Dome is supposed to be capable of intercepting all of the short-range rockets in fired by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hizbullah in Southern Lebanon, by using an advanced radar that locates and tracks the rocket that is then intercepted by a kinetic missile interceptor. During the test, the radar succeeded in detecting which rockets were headed towards coordinates that were designated as open fields and therefore did not launch an interceptor to destroy them. The IDF has already established a new battalion that will be part of the IAF's Air Defense Division and will operate the Iron Dome. Prototypes of the Iron Dome have already been supplied to the new battalion which has commenced training with the systems. The IDF has also located positions along the Gaza border that will be used as bases for the system, which includes a launcher and radar system. After it completes the deployment of the system along the Gaza border, the IDF will begin deploying the system along the northern border with Lebanon. MOD Dir.-Gen. Pinhas Buchris said that the system would eventually "transform" security for residents of southern and northern Israel. "The defense establishment continues to be committed to do everything it can to provide all residents of Israel a multi-layered defense against missiles and rockets," he said. JPost 
 "The military might of Hamas in 2010 is equal to that of Hezbollah's in 2006," an analyst for Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar said. Ibrahim al-Amin, who is affiliated with the Shiite group, wrote "Fighters from Hamas and other (Palestinian) factions have been training for a year on the various uses of anti-aircraft missiles and on how to simultaneously set off a large number of explosives, which would enable it to blow up armored military vehicles the size of a Merkava-type tank." According to the analyst, the Islamist group also practiced firing mid and long-range missiles, as well bombing Israeli communities "located up to 100 kilometers (about 62 miles)" from Gaza. In addition, claimed al-Amin, Hamas has trained special units to expose spy networks and gather intelligence on the "occupation army's deployment and weaponry." "In light of these facts, it is safe to say that the (weapons) in Gaza are equal in their potency to what Hezbollah had on the eve of the ( Second Lebanon War)," he said. "At the time (Hezbollah) did not have the ability to threaten Israel's helicopters, but Israel had admitted that Hamas has been able to acquire anti-helicopter missiles. This will embarrass (Israel) on the battlefield." Al-Amin further claimed that in the past year Hamas fighters "went underground (referring to the construction of bunkers and ditches); this will give it added military capabilities in the face of Israel's aerial superiority." The analyst said Hamas was in possession of Russian-made RPG-29 anti-tank grenade launchers, which were employed by Hezbollah during the war with Israel, in addition to Kornet anti-tank missiles, "which can destroy a tank from five kilometers about three miles) out." Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Hamas' current capabilities are "better than they were on the eve of Operation Cast Lead," adding that Hamas, as well as other Palestinian terror groups, "will continue to grow stronger in 2010." "Hamas will continue with its efforts to smuggle rockets with a range exceeding 50 kilometers (31 miles) into Gaza, as well as anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missiles and any other type of weapons," he said. In early November, the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Major-General Amos Yadlin, told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Hamas held a successful trial launch of a rocket with a 60 km range. The rocket, which could reach Tel Aviv from Hamas' stronghold in the Gaza Strip, is apparently Iranian-made.
 John Noonan has a couple of posts at The Weekly Standard blog that should make your hair stand up. He first analyzes the latest Iranian missile test, pointing out that the new Sajjil-2 missile uses solid-fuel, making it more accurate and reliable and “killing any chance of an advanced warning or neutralization actions prior to a launch” since it doesn’t have to be loaded like a liquid fuel-based missile does. Furthermore, the missile has two-stages. To put that in perspective, our advanced Minuteman III ICBMs are three stages. That means they are one stage away from having an ICBM. Noonan also warns that Iran’s infrastructure goes far beyond what’s necessary for developing a few nuclear weapons. He concludes the Iranians want to build an arsenal, including hydrogen bombs. Below is a long excerpt from his analysis: Iran’s nuclear program is spread throughout a variety of experimental laboratories, hardened enrichment facilities, heavy water manufacturing plants, and two plutonium reactors currently under development (Bushehr could come online within a few months). That far exceeds what’s needed to turn on the lights, but it’s also beyond what’s needed for a basic nuclear weapons program. Consider North Korea, which manufactured two limited yield nuclear weapons using only a plutonium reactor, a plutonium reprocessing facility, and — presumably — some sort of weapons laboratory. Why is Iran pumping billions more into building and protecting triple the number of facilities required to build a basic nuclear weapon, akin to the Fat Man or Little Boy bombs detonated in 1945? The answer could be that Tehran is skipping basic weapons construction and moving towards an advanced thermonuclear design. Consider that they’ve already experimented with advanced weapons designs like two-point implosion, nuclear triggers, and have built their own facility at Arak that could be used to produce both tritium, which is a suspected boosting agent in hydrogen bomb designs, as well as weapons-grade plutonium.
They’ve spent billions building, hardening, and protecting uranium enrichment, which could be used along with plutonium in a staged nuclear device. All this at an astronomical cost and effort compared to the similar North Korean nuclear program. World Threats
 Obama turns his attention to the jihadist "bus station" that is Yemen. "Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists," by Brian Ross, Richard Esposito, Matthew Cole, Luis Martinez, and Kirit Radia for ABC News, December 18: On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson. One of the targeted sites was a suspected al Qaeda training camp north of the capitol, Sanaa, and the second target was a location where officials said "an imminent attack against a U.S. asset was being planned." The Yemen attacks by the U.S. military represent a major escalation of the Obama administration's campaign against al Qaeda. [...] President Obama placed a call after the strikes to "congratulate" the President of Yemen, Ali Abdallah Salih, on his efforts against al Qaeda, according to White House officials. [...] Along with the two U.S. cruise missile attacks, Yemen security forces carried out raids in three separate locations. As many as 120 people were killed in the three raids, according to reports from Yemen, and opposition leaders said many of the dead were innocent civilians. American officials said the missile strikes were intended to disrupt a growing threat from the al Qaeda branch in Yemen, which claims to coordinate terror attacks against neighboring Saudi Arabia....
 Iran has successfully launched a newer-model long range missile, according to its state-run outlet, Press TV. This model, the Sejjil-2 has a longer range than most of its missiles and is capable of hitting Israel. The BBC places its range at about 1200 miles. The Sejjil, meaning ‘Shooting Star’ in Farsi, is another element of brinksmanship with the West. According to one Iranian source, the new missiles are capable of evading anti-ballistic missile defenses.
Whether this is true or bluster must be known to the American intelligence community. If true, however, it would be a significant threat to US bases in the Gulf and Israel. World Threats
 The IDF Home Front Command is preparing for the possibility that Hamas will fire missiles up to a range of 80 kilometers from the Gaza Strip in the event of a future conflict with Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The preparations are being carried out on several different levels within the IDF, with a focus on preparing regional council members and municipality officials within the range - including Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan - for the possibility of missile and rocket attacks in their communities. During Operation Cast Lead, which began December 27, 2008, Hamas fired rockets to a range of around 40 km., hitting Ashdod and Yavneh. In late September, Hamas fired a missile with a 60 km. range from the Gaza Strip into the Mediterranean Sea. The IDF is also preparing information kits that could be distributed in the affected areas, as well as Home Front Command reserve units that would need to be deployed there in the event of rocket attacks. The IDF believes that Hamas has obtained Iranian-made Fajr missiles, either the Fajr 3 or Fajr 5. The Fajr 3 is five meters long and can carry a 45-kilogram warhead. To increase the rocket's range, Hamas has the option of shrinking the warhead to 25 or 30 kilograms, enabling it to strike deeper into Tel Aviv. Hizbullah also possesses such a missile. The Fajr 5 is slightly larger - 10 meters long - and has a range of up to 75 km, which could reach Tel Aviv, as well as communities further up the coast. Intelligence assessments are that Hamas smuggled themissiles into the Gaza Strip through tunnels, possibly as separate components. Iran already supplies Hamas with 122mm Katyusha rockets that are smuggled into Gaza in several pieces, then assembled by Hamas engineers. JPost
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a delegation from the European Jewish Congress that the continuing captivity of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas is intolerable and a humanitarian issue of the highest regard Tuesday night. The delegation from the European Jewish Congress (EJC), the democratically elected representative body of European Jewish communities, brought up the issue of Shalit during their meeting with Lavrov in Moscow. Dr. Moshe Kantor, President of the EJC, presented the Russian Foreign Minister with a book that Shalit wrote when he was 11 years old called “When the Shark and the Fish First Met”. Lavrov told the delegation that he is in constant communication with the Shalit family and that the Russian government would provide any assistance that would be required. Kantor spoke about how important the Shalit affair was for the EJC. “The continuing incarceration of Gilad Shalit is a humanitarian issue of great concern to Israel and the Jewish people,” Kantor said to Lavrov. ”Given Russian influence in the Middle East we would like to ask what Russia can do to help solve this issue.” The EJC delegation is in Russia to discuss major issues of concern to the Jewish community and will meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday. The delegation arrived in Moscow to discuss Russia’s attitude towards tough sanctions against Iran in the wake of the stalled P5+1 talks. The P5+1 consists of the permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - and Germany. “It is vital that there is consensus on the next step should the talks fail. Russia is a vital part of any chances that a strong sanctions program will achieve its object and end the nuclear stand-off peacefully,” Kantor said. “We also asked the Russian leaders to impress the need for tough sanctions with their allies, including the Chinese.” Another issue of particular concern to the EJC is the possible delivery to Iran from Russia of the S-300 missile system. “If the S-300’s were in the hands of the Iranians we can kiss goodbye any chance of a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue,” Kantor continued. “It is clear that the Iranians already see themselves as able to dictate terms to the international community, this missile system would allow them to think of themselves as completely above the law and would act with complete impunity.” YNet
 Debka is reporting that Iran is digging a whole bunch of holes in the ground for real and fake missile silos. The Iranians are frenziedly digging hundreds of new missile launch silos in central and Western Iran in readiness for a US or Israeli attack on their nuclear installations, DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report. Some Western sources have noticed that they are creating more silo bases than they have operational missile batteries in order to mislead their enemies about the locations of the genuine launch pads.
The dummy silos are fully equipped with air defenses including anti-air missiles which too are fake. Iran is also building a whole bunch of missiles of the Shahab-2, Shahab-3 liquid fuel types and a lot of the new Sajil-2 solid fuel type. There are also indications that the Iranians may be working on a three stage missile patterned after the Pakistani Ghauri-3 series. Analysis. There is a line spoken by Jim Hutton in The Green Berets where he talks about what he has learned on a reconnaissance of the local Viet Cong forces. The line goes something like this. “Charlie is building a lot of ladders and caskets. Ladders to get at us and caskets to be buried in.” Basically this was an attack warning. It is difficult to tell if this is an attack warning or a defensive measure, or both. So far the Iranian government has chosen to work through proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthi, to advance its political and religious aims while preserving plausible deniability. I see no immediate reason for them to change tactics. But they are pushing another button in Riyadh and Jerusalem. An array of missile silos would present a targeting nightmare to the Israelis and the Saudis.
If nothing, it would probably force them to use their supply of “bunker busters” on the missile silos and not on the nuclear facilities. It is the Israeli F-15Is that are the only jets capable of delivering the bunker busters. They are not certified for the Tornado that I know of. I doubt that a Durandel would penetrate the top of a missile silo even if it was a direct hit. Or, the Israelis will be forced to fly multiple attack waves and thereby deplete their Air Force. The other possibility is a nuclear strike against some of the targets by Jericho missiles and cruise missiles. World Threats
 Iran said Sunday that if Russia did not provide it with S-300 missiles soon, it would begin to manufacture the land-to-air defenses by itself. "Iran is not a country that is held back by a lack of cooperation from other countries," Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who heads Iran's National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Aftab Yazd daily. "Naturally and in light of Iran's capabilities, it will be able to produce missile defense systems in the near future," he added. Boroujerdi gave no additional details, but was apparently referring to the possible production of missiles similar to the S-300. He said he had recently met with Russia's ambassador to Tehran and told him that "despite the delay in delivery of the system by the Russian government, the Russian ambassador feels that the two-way commitment must be honored". The parliament member's statement joined dozens of others from Iranian officials, who have attempted to warn Russia against further delay in the arms deal. Last week Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi called on Russia not to capitulate to "Zionist pressure", and to fulfill its end of the deal. "We have a contract with Russia, and I don't think it wants to be perceived by the rest of the world as an unreliable partner," he said. Russia has signed an arms deal with Iran to supply the Islamic Republic with the advanced land-to-air missiles, but has not yet delivered them. Israel fears these defenses could interfere with a possible strike on its nuclear facilities. The S-300 are credited with the ability to intercept jets and ballistic missiles at ranges of 140 km, and heights of around 30 km.
 Debka is reporting here that the Iranians are about to launch a 200 kilogram (440 pound) satellite on top of their new solid fuel missile. If the second launch succeeds, it would mean that Iran is capable of producing solid fuel-powered rockets with a range of 2,450-2,450 kilometers, which covers not only all of Israel but would reach as deep into Europe as the Polish capital of Warsaw. Heads of the Islamic regime in Tehran hope that the advent of a second Iranian spy satellite in Middle East skies, boosted by the new Safir rocket, will so astound the Americans and Israelis that they will think twice before going after Iran’s nuclear installations. Analysis. Not a good sign. I would suggest that the Iranian regime’s launch of the satellite will not cause the United States or Israel to think twice but to expedite plans for destroying as much of Iran’s nuclear program as possible.
This could also become a NATO problem as the missile can reach well into NATO member’s territory. Also, the fact that this is a solid fuel missile cuts the warning time way down. Depending on the level of success of Juniper Cobra, the recent joint US-Israel missile defense exercise, we could see an accelerated push to increase sanctions on Iran. It is also time for the United States and others to seriously consider supporting the Iranian people in their so far generally peaceful revolution against the theocracy.
The demonstrations on Student’s Day should make it clear to the World that a large percentage of the population wants the mullahs gone including a lot of the mullahs. Source: World Threats
 A top Afghan military commander is publicly claiming that Iran is behind some of the violence plaguing his country. From MEMRI: A high-ranking commander in the Afghan armed forces, Gholam Farough, intimated that Iran had delivered to Herat, Afghanistan 14 long-range missiles that have been discovered by the Afgan army. He added that Iranian groups were involved in destabilizing western Afghanistan, and that armed Afghan oppositionists were being trained in Iranian camps to carry out terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Source: World Threats
 Syria has transferred nearly a quarter of its long- and medium-range missile arsenal to Hizbullah, the Kuwaiti al Jarida reported on Thursday. According to the report, security sources in Jerusalem told the paper that the missiles, now held by Hizbullah, could hit every part of Israel. Iranian and Syrian officers were reportedly training the Hizbullah operatives in using the new missiles and in operating early warning systems intended to alert the group of Israeli jets. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report. The Kuwaiti article comes days after Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev called on Tuesday for an investigation by UN peacekeepers on an explosion in Tayr Filsay in southern Lebanon, after a weapons cache exploded in the home of a Hizbullah operative on Monday night. In a letter of complaint sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the Security Council, Le Luong Minh of Vietnam. Shalev said Israel has "considerable" reason to believe the house where the explosion took place served as an arms storage facility for Hizbullah. Shalev also said that in the aftermath of the explosion, Hizbullah operatives sealed off the area and attempted to remove evidence.
Following the blast in Tyre, President Shimon Peres said that Hizbullah was turning Lebanon into a "powder keg."
"Hizbullah is endangering Lebanon just like Hamas is endangering the Palestinian people," said Peres. "From our point of view, we can make peace with Lebanon, there is no reason why not," he added, saying the country could be the Switzerland of the Middle East. Source: JPost
 Debka is reporting here that the Russians have suspended shipments of the S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Iran. The ostensible reason for this is that they are attempting to sell the S-400 to the Saudis. According to our Moscow sources, the Russians froze the transfers of anti-missile, anti-air missiles to Iran in the expectation of Saudi Arabia following through on negotiations for the purchase of the latest word in Russian anti-missile hardware, the S-400, which is more advanced than the S-300 system now withheld from Iran.
It has never been sold to a foreign government and even the Russian army has only two brigades armed with S-400 batteries. The Saudis insisted on making the transaction contingent on Moscow withholding the S-300 and Tor-M1 from Iran. Analysis. One would have to question what the Saudis are doing here. If they want a superior SAM system what is wrong with the Patriot PAC-3 system which also has a short range anti-missile capability? This could be a Saudi ploy to hold off deliveries of the S-300 and Tor-M-1systems to Iran and thereby keep the Iranians from having an air defense system that would present an attacker with unacceptable losses.
That is a distinct possibility given the current Israeli rhetoric about attacking Iran.
Ephraim Sneh is predicting an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites by Christmas if effective sanctions are not put in place by the United Nations. While Sneh is out of government at the moment, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that he was “encouraged” to make such a statement The Saudis are good negotiators. They can keep this thing tied up for a few months at the very least. That would be enough time for the Israelis to attack the Iranian nuclear facilities before the Iranians had possession of an effective counter to the IAF. There is also some outside information that I believe applies here.
The Turks have refused to allow the Israelis to play in the forthcoming air defense exercises in Turkey.
As a result, the other major players have pulled out. With Turkey becoming at least mildly hostile to Israel, that probably eliminates any possibility of Israel using Turkish airspace for an attack on Iran.
Iraq is probably closed to them without United States approval of an attack on Iran. That leaves Saudi airspace as the only possibly non-hostile route to Iran. In addition, the Saudis can monitor a whole lot of volume with their AWACS. They will know almost instantly when any raid of any size takes off from the Negev.
The Saudis can either publicize that fact to the World or provide battle management assistance. Right now I’m voting for battle management assistance. I have personal experience working with the AWACS over Germany. These folks can see a very long way from 30,000 feet. The Iranians just managed to destroy their IL-76 Candid AWACS in a mid-air with an F-5E in a flyby over Tehran. Source: World Threats
 by Hillel Fendel A high-ranking Iranian government official says Iran will respond to either an American or Israeli attack by "blowing up the heart of the State of Israel."
The spokesman is a representative of Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's highest spiritual leader, in the country's most powerful military force, the Revolutionary Guard. "Even if one Zionist or American rocket hits our land," said Mojtaba Zolnour, "Iranian rockets will explode in the heart of Israel even before the dust settles." He sounded the threat on Friday morning. Just a week ago, Iran conducted an exercise in which it fired multiple long-range Shihab-3 ballistic missiles simultaneously. The rockets are able to reach any point in the Middle East, as well as some in Europe. Western and Iranian negotiators are scheduled to begin their next round of talks on Iran's uranium enrichment program later this month. The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to have President Barack Obama report by January 31 on his diplomatic efforts to have Iran stop its drive to acquire nuclear weapons. Earlier this year, Obama set an informal deadline of "the end of this year" to see if negotiations with Iran would prove effective. Congress has now given him an extra month. The new bill, which still requires Senate approval, also demands the levying of sanctions on Iran if that country does not accept the American offer "to engage in diplomatic talks" and also if it does not "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities" related to its nuclear ambitions. Source: INN
 History Teaches How to Keep Iran From Going Nuclear Tawfik Hamid Iran's missile tests aim to demonstrate both Iran's military might and its readiness for any military threat. The rogue nation's most recent tests, on Sept. 28, were upgraded versions of the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles. Both can carry warheads and have a range of 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers), putting Israel, American military bases in the Middle East, and parts of Europe within striking distance. It is vital to make the right decisions on how to deal with such a regime. History can teach us many lessons on how we should respond to tyrants. One of the greatest lessons we must learn from history is that integrating the will or the desire to do evil with the ability to do it is catastrophic. The Nazi regime, for example, would not have been capable of carrying out the Holocaust if the free world had had the conscience to stand against it at an early stage to prevent it from getting sufficient power to harm others. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad clearly expressed his desire to erase Israel from the map, which would entail killing millions of innocent people. It would be a disaster if the free world failed to stop him from getting the power to do so. It is shameful that neither the Mulla regime in Iran nor the other Islamic scholars in the Sunni Muslim world denounced his statements to erase Israel. It is unwise not to believe the Iranian president's statements. If we are not going to believe the Iranian regime in this, then why should we believe it when it says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes! It is also important to mention that the title of the military operation to test the missiles, Al-Rasoul Al-AaZam (The Greatest Prophet-Mohamed), used Islamic names that carry certain a symbolism. "Shahab" and "Siggil" were used in the traditional Islamic text to indicate destruction of others. Here are their meanings: Quran 37:10 — Except such as snatch away something by stealth, and they (the devils) are pursued by "Shahab" — a flaming fire, of piercing ability (to destroy them). Quran 105:4-5 — Which smote them with "Sajjil" — stone-hard blows of chastisement pre-ordained, that caused them to become like a field of grain that has been eaten down to stubble. Source: http://www.newsmax.com/tawfik_hamid/Iran_nuclear_threat/2009/10/02/267768.html
 An IAEA report tentively concludes that Iran has the necessary scientific expertise and knowledge to build a nuclear weapon. Therefore, all Iran has to do now is enrich its current stocks of uranium to the 90% level required to create a nuclear explosion, and somewhere covert to do so. The newly-announced Qom site is out of the question because it isn’t operational yet and inspectors are going to be working there by the end of the month, according to reports from today. The report also confirms that from 2002-2003, Iran worked on reconfiguring the Shahab-3 to carry a nuclear warhead. The New York Times also reports: “The atomic agency’s report also presents evidence that beyond improving upon bomb-making information gathered from rogue nuclear experts around the world, Iran has done extensive research and testing on how to fashion the components of a weapon. It does not say how far that work has progressed.” This means either Iran has a covert site somewhere else, which would require massive construction efforts that can be detected by satellites easily, or they are just trying to build the infrastructure necessary to later produce an arsenal, rather than one bomb or two at a time at the earliest possibility.
My guess is that the second, wiser option is the one they are pursuing. Source: World Threats
 BY CHRISTIAN CARYL Forget about Iran's nukes for the moment. The real crisis is its drive for advanced surface-to-air missiles. The recent revelations about Iran's nuclear program -- centering on an enrichment facility buried in a mountain near the holy city of Qom -- have almost certainly intensified the sense of urgency among policymakers in Jerusalem.
Even though the news has triggered a new round of high-stakes diplomacy (including an unusual bilateral meeting between Americans and Iranians), you can bet that Israeli military planning for an attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities has moved into overdrive. Yet there's another ticking clock the Israelis are worried about that hasn't been in the headlines quite so much. For years now, Tehran has been working hard to acquire sophisticated Russian antiaircraft missiles that would make it far tougher for Israeli planes to stage a successful attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. One Israeli lawmaker, Zeev Elkin, even warned last week that delivering the missiles could even speed up the timing of an Israeli air raid. "I hope Moscow understands that the deliveries will at least speed up such events, if not trigger them," Elkin told the Russian daily Kommersant.
Experts estimate that a working Iranian nuclear weapon is still probably at least a year away, depending on a host of contingencies. But the Russian missiles, which just might ensure that Iran's nuclear installations can be protected from attack, could be delivered at any time. So it's easy to understand why, right now, Israeli minds seem to be focused on the more urgent of these two ticking clocks. The system in question is the S-300 -- actually something of a catchall term because the name covers several systems of varying ages and levels of effectiveness. The S-300 is essentially the Russian equivalent of the American Patriot: quick-reaction missiles designed to defend large areas of airspace against incoming airplanes and ballistic missiles. Although the S-300 has never been tested under combat conditions, military experts have a high opinion of its capabilities -- especially those of the more recent variants like the PMU-2 Favorit (known in the West as the SA-20B), which can track 100 targets while engaging up to 12. It can hit targets as far as 120 miles away. "It's a high-technology weapon," said Siemon Wezeman of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms shipments around the world. "It has an impact which is not restricted to just two or three square kilometers. It's a major thing." Read more here,,,,, Source: Foreign Policy
 ON the eve of talks with the international community about its nuclear aspirations, and only hours after a "provocative" missile test, Iran has issued a warning to Israel that it would face destruction if it attacked the Islamist nation. "If this (an Israeli attack) happens, which, of course, we do not foresee, its ultimate result would be to expedite the last breath of the Zionist regime," Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on state television. His comments came after Western leaders called a second day of rocket launches by Iran a "reprehensible" distraction from talks this week that will determine whether Tehran is ready to negotiate over its nuclear program, or face biting new sanctions. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the missile tests "provocative". He added: "This is an important day and an important week for Iran." Mr Gibbs demanded unfettered access to a new nuclear facility that Iran admitted to last week. Meanwhile, in the lead-up to tomorrow's talks in Geneva, the administration of US President Barack Obama and its Western allies were working up new ways to impose sanctions on Iran if it does not comply with demands to come clean about its nuclear program. American officials said the US would expand its own penalties against Iranian companies and press for greater international sanctions against foreign firms, largely European, that do business in the country unless Iran can prove that its nuclear activities are not aimed at developing an atomic weapon. Among the ideas being considered were asset freezes and travel bans. The proposed sanctions would largely focus on investment in Iran's energy infrastructure and development, the officials said. But some economic giants are less enthusiastic about sanctions. China and Russia are still seen as only half-hearted partners in any effort to push penalties through the UN Security Council. And France and Germany are skittish about targeting Iran's oil imports. European officials stressed yesterday that they were likely to seriously consider new sanctions on Tehran only at year-end, citing a December deadline - replacing Mr Obama's September deadline - that has been set to see whether diplomacy with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad works. While Iran is a major oil exporter, its lack of refining capacity requires it to import about 40 per cent of its petrol and other petroleum-based fuels. A total embargo on Iranian oil - which Israeli officials have suggested - seems unlikely. US law already forbids American firms from buying Iranian oil, but Europe, Japan and China are big customers. Source: The Australian
 Iran has test-fired two long-range missiles which defence analysts say are capable of hitting Israel or US bases in the Gulf region.
The state-sponsored Press TV news channel said that the Shahab 3 and Sejil missiles were fired on Monday, the second day of military exercises by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Britain, France and the European Union all expressed their "concern" after the tests, which come just days before Tehran is due to meet the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with Germany, to discuss its nuclear programme. "We call on Iran to choose the path of co-operation rather than confrontation, by immediately ceasing these deeply destabilising activities," a statement from the French foreign ministry said. Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said that the tests were consistent with the "provocative nature with which Iran has acted on the world stage". He urged Tehran to allow "unfettered access" to its nuclear facilities and said there was an "international consensus" to address the issue Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, also voiced concern about the missile tests. "Of course it is worrisome when missile launches happen against the backdrop of an unresolved situation concerning Iran's nuclear programme," Russian news agencies quoted him as saying. Lavrov was speaking to Russian reporters in New York after meeting his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, whom he said he urged to be "maximally co-operative" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in investigating the construction of a new uranium enrichment plant. Read more here,,,, Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 The Russian president has said that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, and that the world should offer incentives to help Tehran make the "right decision".
"Our task is to maintain a system of incentives allowing Iran to use peaceful nuclear energy but [we] will not allow the creation of nuclear weapons," Dmitry Medvedev said after talks on Wednesday with his American counterpart Barack Obama.
"We believe it is necessary to help Iran make the right decision," he added after the talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The US and Europe has long accused Tehran of using its uranium enrichment programme for the eventual production of a nuclear weapon. Iran says its programme is aimed solely towards the peaceful generation of electricity. Medvedev appeared to suggest that Moscow was moving closer to backing fresh sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, saying that while such tactics were rarely productive they were sometimes "inevitable". The apparent concord between Washington and Moscow on how best to address Iran's nuclear question comes days after the Obama administration announced that it would cancel plans to station missile interceptors and radar bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia had criticised that missile defence plan, saying that Washington was threatening its national security. Obama said on Wednesday that Iran was running short of time in which to be open to the world on its sensitive nuclear work. "Serious additional sanctions remain a possibility," he said, urging Tehran to "seize the opportunity" at the talks with the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany. Obama said the extra sanctions could come into force if Iran did not respond to serious negotiations. The US president also said he and Medvedev shared the view that the Iran nuclear issue "should be resolved diplomatically." Moscow and Washington are considering the scope of a new treaty to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start), which expires in December. Read more here,,,, Source: Al Jazeera (English)
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Israel inched a step closer to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the Iron Dome successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests held in southern Israel this week.
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