- Amid lingering talks of war on Iran, Israel's prime minister-designate
raises the alarm about a major military conflict in the coming months.
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- The soon-to-be prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes
that "a national emergency" such as Israel's involvement in a
major war would help him in his frantic attempts to form a new ruling coalition.
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- Following the inconclusive February 20 elections, Benjamin
"Bibi" Netanyahu, the hawkish leader of Likud, was tasked with
piecing together a new Israeli government.
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- Netanyahu, who is known as "Mr. Iran" in Israeli
circles, has so far failed to gain the trust and support of opposition
parties of Kadima and Labor.
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- According to a report carried by Debka, which is believed
to have close links to the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, Bibi is
planning to settle for a provisional administration before calling for
another early election in six months.
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- "His main consideration is that Israel expects to
be embroiled in a major military confrontation in the next few months with
Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah -- or all three at once," read the Debka
report.
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- "A national emergency" would then compel Israeli
rivals to join Bibi's government, unnamed political sources were quoted
as saying.
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- The military conflict prediction by the Israeli prime
minister-designate comes as earlier on February 16, an annual defense work
plan presented to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of
Staff Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi for the year 2009 described Iran
as "the No.1 threat the IDF is now preparing for."
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- The report tasked the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) with
reinforcing its strategic aerial capabilities, while zooming in on the
development of "remote-piloted vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles",
as well as "infrastructural investments in intelligence and communications
devices."
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- Israel, believed to be the only possessor of a nuclear
arsenal in the Middle East, describes Iran's nuclear activities as a threat
to its existence.
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- Israeli officials claim that considering the pace at
which Iran is moving ahead with its nuclear program it would become a nuclear
power by the end of 2009 and argue that a military attack is a legitimate
option for taking out the country's nuclear infrastructure.
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- As a response to long-standing Israeli war rhetoric,
Iran has moved to upgrade its defenses and has reportedly opted to clinch
a deal with Russia to acquire a sophisticated air defense system -- the
S-300.
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- Earlier on Tuesday, however, a report revealed that Moscow
might take a step and shelve the delivery of the controversial air defense
system to Iran as Russia is currently seeking to turn a "new page"
in its ties with the US.
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- "Such a possibility is not excluded. The question
[of S-300 delivery] must be decided at a political level, especially as
the contract was worked out on a purely commercial basis," Russia's
Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying.
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- The freeze in the delivery of the Russian S-300 surface-to-air
missile is expected to help ensure the success of an Israeli airstrike
on Iranian nuclear sites.
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- Western military experts have estimated that the controversial
system would rule out the possibility of any such strike on Iranian facilities.
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- "If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer
in military thinking for tackling Iran," says long-time Pentagon advisor
Dan Goure.
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- http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=88605§ionid=351020104
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