U.S. Denies Israel Aid to Attack Iran

To stop the warmongering of Israel, the U.S. will not deliver military equipment that could be used against Tehran.

Facing an Iranian nuclear threat, Israeli officials feel curbed by Washington. The Americans have indeed once again vetoed every attempt to purchase “destruction” weapons that would allow Israeli air raid attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. In other words, The U.S. does not want to be caught by surprise and placed in front of an accomplished fact, as was the case in 1981, when Israeli aircraft destroyed an Iraqi nuclear power facility under the regime of Saddam Hussein. At that time, the Jewish state did not ask for the permission of anyone.

But this time, a hasty tactic could be much more dangerous for the United States. Tens of thousands of American soldiers deployed in Iraq could be the target of retaliation by Iran if Israel were to attack. As a result, the Americans are trying to curb the aggression of their ally. According to the Haaretz daily, the Jewish state has been denied the delivery of anti-bunkers bombs which weigh 2.2 tons, and are capable of drilling equipment reinforced by concrete six meters deep. This type of equipment is necessary because the Iranians took the precaution of not only dispersing twenty or more nuclear sites identified by international experts, but also burying them underground in mountainous and remote areas.

The United States does not want to provide the Boeing 767 specially designed for in-flight refueling, but without these devices, much of the Israeli fighters can not bombard locations on the eastern border of Iran and still have enough fuel to return to their base.

The United States also maintains a corridor in the Iraqi airspace, airspace necessary for the Israeli planes to reach Iran. But the U.S. has so far refused fly-over rights to Israel, meaning pilots would risk being targeted by airplanes and American missiles deployed in Iraq.

To compensate for this series of rebuffs, Israel has been given a nice consolation prize. The U.S. will install an ultra-sophisticated radio in Negev, a southern part of Israel, which will locate a missile firing at 2000 kilometers (twice the capacity of the current Israeli equipment). The station will allow Israeli anti-aircraft batteries to be alerted by incoming missiles. Any attack against the station will endanger the lives of civilians and U.S. soldiers responsible for its functioning. Given that every nation leading an attack must consider their consequences before taking action… it remains to be seen whether this “gift” will be sufficient to calm the Israeli enthusiasm. For now, the political and military leaders advocate a tightening of economic sanctions imposed by the international community to compel Tehran to freeze its uranium enrichment operations.

In other words, Israel reserves the right to act alone if diplomacy fails. As advocated by Amos Gilad, a senior Minister of Defense, “it is better to remain discreet. If we decide to attack, we must attack and remain silent.”

But how far can the Jewish State afford to challenge the great American ally?