Israeli Military Exercise Seen as Warning to Iran

The Israeli military conducted a massive military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean. The exercise included about 100 aircraft and, mid-air refueling. Analysts are speculating that the exercise is a warning both to Iran and the US that Israel is prepared to use force. Bloomberg

Unfortunately, I cannot see any other solution to Iran's nuclear threat short of a coup.

A wide-ranging Israeli military exercise in the eastern Mediterranean was likely aimed at warning both Iran and the U.S. about the possibility of a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, a U.S. analyst said.

``It's very hard to think of any other enemies Israel has that would require such a massive use of forces or an attack waged at such a distance,'' said Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign- policy analyst at Washington's Brookings Institution.

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At the United Nations, Russia's envoy cautioned that even the threat of military action might damage a diplomatic effort aimed at persuading Iran to limit its nuclear work.

``If things happen like threats of force and unilateral sanctions outside the framework of the Security Council, it is distracting from the negotiating process,'' Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters. ``A military move would have devastating consequences for the prospect of resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, for the region and internationally.''

O'Hanlon said the exercise may have been designed to send two simultaneous messages: one to the Iranians that a strike could be made unless they rein in their nuclear activities, and another to the U.S. about the possibility of an attack.

`Used to It'

``They want to get us used to it, or at least not be totally surprised by it,'' O'Hanlon said. ``They want to be able to say they gave us warning. And they want to dissuade Iran as well. It's also battlefield training. It's all these things simultaneously.''

The New York Times, which first reported on the exercise, said it had a range of 900-miles (1,450-kilometers). The Times quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying the exercise could be a rehearsal for an attack against the Iranian nuclear plant in Natanz as well as Iran's long-range conventional missiles.