Iran could have built ‘15 nuclear bombs within days’, says Israel after strike
That’s not likely a recent development. They’ve had the bits and bobs available for some time now, no?
Iran could have built ‘15 nuclear bombs within days’, says Israel after strike
That’s not likely a recent development. They’ve had the bits and bobs available for some time now, no?
The Israelis have been telegraphing this punch for ages . This is a total humiliation for Iran, as they couldn’t even down one jet out of the huge swarm that hit them.
I have to admit, I was unsure what Trump had to negotiate with the Iranians about. We know after the Clinton debacle that the Ayatollahs do not talk in good faith.
Otto, “the Ayatollahs do not talk in good faith”.
They’re moslems, it’s in their DNA.
For all those who simply refuse to believe anything Israel says (Hi Greta!) here’s yesterdays bbc news:-
It follows a report from the IAEA last week which criticised Iran’s “general lack of co-operation” and said it had enough uranium enriched to 60% purity, near weapons grade, to potentially make nine nuclear bombs.
I’m sure bbc verify will be pointing out that 9 nuclear bombs and 15 nuclear bombs are definitely not the same thing.
I note that a pusillanimous cliché now means that Sir Greasy Piglet has now become Brave Sir Robin.
Yet just the other day the US was saying that their intelligence people had briefed Trump that Iran was nowhere near being able to build a nuclear bomb. Which is it, and why – come to that – should I believe any of the set of lying bastards?
You might as well look for truth in the Guardian or NYT. Waste of time.
60% isn’t good enough for a U235 bomb – it needs to be around 95%. However it’s a lot easier to get from 60% to 95% than it is to get to 60% in the first place.
To any President, Prime Minister, or head of state wishing to engage in any form of treaty or negotiation with a Muslim country, just remember what “taqquiya” means.
John @ 8.06, Bibi explicitly stated 9 in his press briefing this morning, and the “15” widely quoted in the media appears to come from some unknown “official source”, so is probably made up.
Anyhow, seeing as it’s the mad mullahs who are doing the enrichment, I think ‘1’ would be too many and so do the Yids.
. . . as they couldn’t even down one jet out of the huge swarm that hit them.
Looks like they might have used a more elaborate variant of recent Ukrainian tactics: civilian vehicles loaded with drones to take out enemy weapons (plus command and control) from within the enemy country. Explodee targets before there’s even a hint of a jet taking off in Israel. F-35s can deal with the next level defenses, then the 4th gen jets can fly with minimal ground-to-air threat. Israel probably already owns the air above the areas they need to act over the coming days.
I’d give it a 50% chance that Tel Aviv is a nuclear crater by the years end. Maybe with an Iranian made bomb made from parts that escaped or perhaps a Russian one supplied as part of their mutual defence pact. The next question is will it be delivered by ballistic missile or by something low tech.
Yet just the other day the US was saying that their intelligence people had briefed Trump that Iran was nowhere near being able to build a nuclear bomb. Which is it
Who gives a fuck? Iran is trying to get nukes and thus presents an existential threat to Israel. The sooner their ambitions are bombed into tiny pieces the better.
“is will it be delivered by ballistic missile or by something low tech.”
If they have any sense at all, it will have been sitting inside a container depot in Tel Aviv for a year or more.
One phone call….sort of a pager alert, but louder.
I think Israel will find its much easier to start a war than end it.
Marius,
“Who gives a fuck? Iran is trying to get nukes and thus presents an existential threat to Israel. ”
What’s Iran’s interest in nuking Israel? Upside, you kill the Jews, which is something you might like. Downside… if you miss, Israel is going to turn Tehran into rubble and everyone else will do likewise.
Most wars in the Middle East are inter-Arab, people fighting over oil fields. Iran/Iraq, Iraq/Kuwait, all that ISIS stuff. This makes sense. It’s a turf war like drug dealers killing each other. You kill the other guy, you get his oil and you get richer and more powerful. Israel doesn’t have oil. Or even particularly good farmland.
Israel had to do this now since Ukraine just pulled the same stunt. Everyone (especially the Iranians who have a long history of failing to stop covert Israeli activity in their country) will be scampering around like crazy looking for enemy drone stockpiles in quiet warehouses close to sensitive installations. It was only a matter of time before this particular toyset got located and neutralized.
We have a couple of military commentators on here occasionally who may or may not have heard some such chatter, and wouldn’t necessarily have to kill us if they responded to hints?
@ Western Bloke
All the Iranian proxies engaged in terrorist attacks on Israel shows it’s not all inter-Arab conflict.
The mad mullahs (is there any other sort?) intend to remove the jooz from the map.
If it’s not love, then it’s the Bomb
O/T: Thinking about it, Brave Sir Robin is even Braver than I thought after swerving a meeting with Muhammad Yunus. I’m not sure why he’s not willing to cut Tulip Siddiq free. Perhaps there is the possibility of some unrest in certain Labour-voting communities if he did that.
Marius
These people are nihilists.
Blowing up the world is a small price to pay for destroying Israel
Not that I pay a lot of attention but I’m given to understand that the Mad Mullahs subscribe to some millenarian cult which insists that salvation will come from an all-consuming fire that devours their enemies.
If you’re up against people who think their Stairway to Heaven is nuking you, you’re not going to waste time trying to negotiate with them.
you’re not going to waste time trying to negotiate with them.
Our government, the one that’s just pledged over £30bn to give away its own territory, might be prepared to try. Obama and Bidens handlers already did.
@Tim
Israel didn’t start the war, it was started by the Arab states in 1948 and has been running since
The lead actors have changed over the years but the existential threat is essentially unchanged except for Iran’s potential acquisition of nuclear weapons
What I find most interesting is the actions of neighbouring states
It is clear that the Israelis had the tacit approval of Jordan and Saudi Arabia and there has hardly been a deluge of criticism from other Arab states
Iran is a regional threat both directly and though it’s numerous proxies
Should reduce the number of drones available to Putin as a happy side effect
Remember, Persians aren’t Arabs. In fact, the Revolutionary Iranian regime is responsible for most deaths of Arabs in the Middle East.
@Starfish
The lead actors have changed over the years
They certainly have. When the war started in 1948 the Jewish population of the area that is now Israel was about 650,000 or about 35% of the population and up from 25% in 1940.
Now it’s over 7.7 million so 77%.
A scary comparison is that currently 23% of the population in England is non white British. In 85 years the prediction is 70% so not quite as extreme but the numbers are broadly similar.
Starfish.
Because most news coverage is shit none of the explain the Iran-Saudi proxy war. Roughly speaking, it kicked off with the Iranian revolution in the late 70s. They’ve been fighting out of each other ever since, but mostly via proxies, terrorist attacks on say, the Saudi embassy in Iran. Fighting over say, Yemen. That’s really Iran vs Saudi. They’ve formed alliances with other countries. The Arab League is Saudi and their pals. Like Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia and UAE. Not Iran.
What’s been happening for about a decade or so, Saudi Arabia has started being less frosty towards Israel. It still doesn’t officially recognise the state of Israel, but they are talking to each other. In particular, there is supposedly some co-operation over Iran. Despite all the Arab vs Jew thing, Saudi Arabia has better diplomatic relations with Israel than it does with Iran.
What kicked off the situation in Gaza in recent years was the Abraham Accords, which was going to lead to official recognition of Israel by the Arab League. Some countries like UAE, Bahrain and Morocco have already signed. What Iran wanted (and did it via Hamas and Hezbollah) was to stop Saudi from signing, and that create scenes of Jews killing Arabs, would cause trouble. Soon after that, Saudi backed out.
@Tim the Coder
If they have any sense at all, it will have been sitting inside a container depot in Tel Aviv for a year or more.
Operate on the basis that the Israelis are about five steps ahead of any Islamic nation see eg exploding pagers and you won’t go far wrong. There’s a reason El Al flights haven’t been bombed and it’s not for lack of trying: having a large group of people who just want to kill your and your family and everyone else in your country concentrates the mind apparently. (Mind you, drones are changing everything.)