Is a strike on Iran imminent? 

From Will at The Other News:
Recently, there have been statements here in Israel that give the impression that a strike against Iran may be imminent.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to have made a veiled reference to the issue again on Tuesday, when he told the Knesset that Israel may have to protect its vital interests alone, while other reports focused on comments by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who stated this week that difficult decisions were “keeping him up at nights,” without elaborating further. 

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about Iran in his address to the opening session of the Knesset on Monday, the first time in quite a while that Iran has been given such prominence. Herb Keinon reports that Israel has the capabilities to carry out a strike. Israel is believed to have a fully prepared plan to launch such a strike, which would likely involve at least several hundred aircraft. 

Multiple aerial routes are theoretically available for Israeli aircraft to reach targets in Iran. In all those paths though, the jets would likely have to either neutralize or evade radar systems of other countries along the route, as well as face the potential fallout that could follow an intrusion of foreign airspace. 

Israel also possesses the advanced midair refueling capabilities required for carrying out sorties over multiple Iranian targets situated between 1,500 and 2,000 km. away from home. Possible targets could include uranium- enrichment sites at Natanz and Qom, the uranium- conversion plant at Isfahan, and a heavy water reactor in Arak suspected of being used to pursue a plutonium-based nuclear arms program, as well as additional facilities. 

But that's only part of the story...............Read the full story here.

• Netanyahu trying to persuade cabinet to support attack on Iran.(Haaretz).Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are trying to muster a majority in the cabinet in favor of military action against Iran, a senior Israeli official has said. According to the official, there is a "small advantage" in the cabinet for the opponents of such an attack. Netanyahu and Barak recently persuaded Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who previously objected to attacking Iran, to support such a move. Senior ministers and diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency's report, due to be released on November 8, will have a decisive effect on the decisions Israel makes.The commotion regarding Iran was sparked by journalist Nahum Barnea's column in Yedioth Ahronoth last Friday. Barnea's concerned tone and his editors' decision to run the column under the main headline ("Atomic Pressure" ) repositioned the debate on Iran from closed rooms to the media's front pages.Reporters could suddenly ask the prime minister and defense minister whether they intend to attack Iran in the near future and the political scene went haywire.Western intelligence officials agree that Iran is forging ahead with its nuclear program. Intelligence services now say it will take Iran two or three years to get the bomb once it decides to (it hasn't made the decision yet ).According to Western experts' analyses, an attack on Iran in winter is almost impossible, because the thick clouds would obstruct the Israel Air Force's performance.Read the full story here.

• Related - Minister Begin: Public debate on strike in Iran 'madness'.(YNet).Minister Benny Begin (Likud) said Wednesday that the public debate on a possible Israeli strike on Iran was "madness."Begin, who is a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's special eight-minister security forum said that the debate was "utterly irresponsible" and that it "severely impeded the government's ability to make decisions" on the matter."I fear this kind of irresponsibility, which could lead to similar (behavior) regarding any other government debate. I fear this orchestrated journey by civil servants and the media," he told Army Radio.Begin hinted to former Mossad Chief Meir Dagan's comments on a possible strike in Iran, saying that they constituted "a dangerous breach of trust, verging on megalomania. It's just despicable."Civil servants, he added, "Are obligated to protect state secret they were privy to regardless of time. These kind of acts are very severe."Read the full story here.

• IDF successfully tests ballistic missile.(YNet). The IDF successfully test fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday. The Defense Ministry confirmed that "a prescheduled test of a rocket propulsion system was conducted out of the Palmachim Airbase." The statement offered no further details.Previous similar missile tests included Hetz ("Arrow") missile tests. The Hetz aims to intercept mid-to-long range missiles, like the kind used by Hezbollah. The Defense Ministry did not confirm whether Wednesday's test fire involved a Hetz system.Foreign media reports suggested that Israel might have tested its surface-to-surface Jericho missiles. The report was neither confirmed nor denied by the Defense Ministry. The white tail of smoke left across the sky by the rocket was seen across large parts of central Israel, sparking mass public interest.Concerned citizens who contacted Ynet ventured that the missile might have been evidence of the Iron Dome system scrambling to intercept a Gaza-fired rocket, and some even speculated that it had something to do with the recent reports suggesting the government was mulling a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.Meanwhile, Iran's Chief of Staff Major-General Hassan Fairouz Abadi commented Wednesday on reported Israeli threats to strike against Iran and warned that Tehran would "punish Israel surprisingly" for any kind of "mistake." According to the Abadi, "Even though the likelihood for such an attack is low, we see the threat as a serious threat and are on full alert."He added that "America knows that a Zionist military strike in Iran would cause it major damages in addition to the damages caused to this regime."Hmmmm......"May you live in interesting times.Like it or not we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men than any other time in history." ~ John F. Kennedy.Read the full story here.