Five-day military exercise included ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel.
By David Hellerman, World Israel News
Iran completed a five-day military exercise last week that included firing ballistic and cruise missiles capable of reaching Israel. Tehran’s saber-rattling comes as Israel boosts its preparedness for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“The military exercise… is a serious warning to Zionist regime officials… Make the slightest mistake, we will cut off their hand,” said Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Major General Hossein Salami.
Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, reported that the Revolutionary Guards fired 16 missiles, some of which have a range of 2,000 km (1,250 miles). That would threaten all of Israel, as well as U.S. military bases in the Mideast.
Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, said the planned drill was an answer to Israel’s recent “massive but pointless threats” to Iran.
And the semi-official Tasnim News Agency said, “Through a simulation of the Dimona atomic facilities, the Revolutionary Guards successfully practiced attacking this critical centre of the Zionist regime in its missile exercise.”
In November, the Knesset approved a $1.5 billion budget for the IDF to prepare for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The IDF has already begun acquiring needed hardware.
During a recent visit to Washington, Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed with American officials potential joint military operations and readiness against possible Iranian escalation.