Sunday, July 26, 2009

The Next Middle East War?



Iran vows to hit Israel's atomic sites if attacked: report
Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:11am EDT

By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that Iran would strike Israel's nuclear facilities if the Jewish state attacked it, state television reported.

"If the Zionist Regime (Israel) attacks Iran, we will surely strike its nuclear facilities with our missile capabilities," Mohammad Ali Jafari, Guards commander-in-chief, told Iran's Arabic language al-Alam television.

The Revolutionary Guards are the ideologically driven wing of Iran's military with air, sea and land capabilities, and a separate command structure to regular units.

Iranian leaders often dismiss talk of a possible strike by Israel, saying it is not in a position to threaten Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter. They say Iran would respond to any attack by targeting U.S. interests and Israel.

"We are not responsible for this regime and other enemies' foolishness ... If they strike Iran, our answer will be firm and precise," state television quoted Jafari as saying.

The United States, Israel and their Western allies fear that Iran is enriching uranium with the aim of producing nuclear weapons and have not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the row.

Iran says it is pursuing only a nuclear power generation program.

Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has repeatedly described Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence. Iran refuses to recognize Israel.

"NOT SCARED"

Jafari said Israel was entirely within the reach of Iran.

"Our missile capability puts all of the Zionist regime (Israel) within Iran's reach to attack," Jafari said. "The Zionist regime is too small to threaten Iran."

Military experts say Iran rarely reveals enough detail about its new military equipment to determine its military capabilities.

Israel has so far quietly acceded to Washington's strategy of talking to Tehran about curtailing its sensitive nuclear work.

Israel believes that a multi-level missile shield underwritten by the United States would protect the country against possible missile attacks.

Jafari said such a shield could only protect Israel "in a limited way."

"But they will have no answer when Iran bombards them (and) sends a great number of its missiles," he added.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in May Iran had tested a missile that defense analysts say could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf. Washington said the test was a "step in the wrong direction" to remove concerns over its nuclear work.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for about 40 percent of globally traded oil, if it is attacked. The U.S. military says it will prevent any such action.

Military experts say Iranian missiles often draw on technology from China, North Korea and other countries.

Israel has three German-made submarines that are widely assumed to carry nuclear missiles.

One of the submarines sailed from the Mediterranean, via the Suez Canal, to Israel's Red Sea port of Eilat in early July, seen as a signal to Iran of the long reach of its arsenal.

Jafari said Iran "was not scared" of Israel's military capabilities. "It is part of the psychological war that the West has launched against Iran," he said.

Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, was re-elected in a disputed June 12 presidential vote that stirred the largest display of internal unrest in the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Jon Boyle)

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So where exactly are Israels' nuclear facilities? Well, they are located at Dimona, which can be found southeast of the city of Beersheba in southern Israel, or west of the southern end of the Dead Sea. Should believers find this important to the prophetic future of Israel? Since I and many others feel that the prophecy of Isaiah 17 concerning the destruction of Damascus is the next major prophetic event that will occur in the Middle East, it's logical to wonder if these two events might be related.

A close examination of the prophecy of Isaiah 17 reveals that the apparent nuclear destruction of Damascus seems to be a result of something that happens somewhere else.

The cities of Aroer [are] forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make [them] afraid. Isaiah 17:2 KJV

There are three different Aroers mentioned in the Bible, but of them, only one seems to be geographically related to these events. Why? Because one is to be found outside of Israel in Jordan, another has yet to be found, and the remaining ancient city of Aroer, referred to in 1 Samuel 30:28, was located southeast of the city of Beersheva and west of the southern end of the Dead Sea, approximately where you find the nuclear facility of Dimona today.

What will happen if and when Israel attacks the nuclear ambitions of Iran? Well, according to Iran, they will attack Dimona in response. Where does Damascus fit in? Simply it is very questionable that Iran can respond directly from their own territory with rockets accurate enough, or with enough range to hit Dimona. There are, however, numerous Iranian rockets in Syria armed and aimed at Israel. Would Iran launch their response from Syria? Most experts have no doubt that Syria would do exactly what Iran tells them to do, considering the extent to which Syria is indebted to them. Are we seeing the clues to the beginning of the next Middle East War in the news today? Could it happen in the very near future?

With the recent movement of Israeli warships and submarines through the Suez Canal on their way to the Persian Gulf one can only wonder. That combined with the reports from the region concerning military exercises and apparent preparations for an operation, it would seem to be inevitable.

Just a few more reasons we need to be watching and praying.



PS. More breaking headlines, late Sunday, 7/26/2009

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6197
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2651064120090726
http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20090720_video_rethinking_iran

7/27/2009

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090727/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/ml_israel_us