Israel Conducts Massive Military Rehearsal For Strike On Iran

The New York Times reported on Friday that Israel carried out a massive military exercise earlier this month in rehearsal for a potential strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

Us officials told the newspaper that more than 100 Israeli fighter planes participated in the manuever which took place over the eastern Mediterranean in the first week of June.

The military exercise appeared to be an effort to focus on long-range strikes and illustrates the seriousness with which Israel views Iran's nuclear program.

The newspaper said that Israeli officials refused to discuss the exercise, but a spokesman for the Israeli military said that the country's air force "regularly trains for various missions in order to confront and meet the challenges posed by the threats facing Israel".

A Pentagon official said that the goal of the excercise was to practice flight tactics, aerial refueling and other procedures which would be needed in a possible strike against Iran's nuclear installations and missile batteries.

The official added that the second goal of the exercise was to send a clear message that Israel was prepared to act militarily if other efforts to stop Iran from producing bomb-grade uranium fail.

Several US officials told the newspaper they did not believe Israel had decided to attack Iran or think such a strike was imminent.

The UN Security Council has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran for defying council demands that it suspend its uranium enrichment program, which could be used to make fuel for power plants or atomic weapons.

Iran has refused to buckle to the sanctions and has spurned previous offers of economic benefits to suspend its uranium enrichment, which it says is to produce fuel for electrical power plants rather than for nuclear weapons.

Iran said Thursday it was ready to negotiate over a new package of economic incentives put forward by major powers seeking to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear work. 06/20/08