Iran announced today that it had tested nine ballistic missiles (left), but the country’s stockpile of U.S.-built I-HAWK missiles (right, in a Japanese test last year) would “pose the biggest threat” as anti-aircraft weapons in defending against a potential attack on its nuclear facilities by Israel, says a leading expert.From Popular Mechanics:
Yesterday, April 1, 2009 Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, told Congress that “the Israeli government may ultimately see itself so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail or delay it.” Here's how experts think the mission could unfold.
War-game tests by Iran of long- and medium-range missiles sent shock waves across the globe today, with tensions centering on a potential attack on Israel and, ultimately, the country's nuclear ambitions. Among the nine ballistic missiles fired was an upgraded Shahab-3 with GPS guidance, 450 pounds of carrying capacity and an estimated 1250-mile range—already a potent threat to Israeli cities and bases, even before nuclear warheads enter the equation. What's more, Gen. Hossein Salami, the air force commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, offered a blunt warning after the exercise, saying it demonstrated the country's “resolve and might against enemies who in recent weeks have threatened Iran with harsh language,” according to various reports.
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