Posted by pakalert on October 24, 2009
The US and Israel launched a major joint military exercise yesterday as a deadline neared for Iran to approve a deal to delay its development of nuclear weapons and prevent Israel from attacking its nuclear facilities.
An Israeli submarine and a US warship were part of the air defence drill
More than 1,000 US troops and 17 US Navy ships joined Israeli forces for a week-long missile defence exercise as it emerged that until recent progress in nuclear talks Israel may have been much closer to ordering a military strike than had been thought.
The deal to export much of Iran’s uranium to Russia and process it for civilian use should push back Iran’s acquisition of its first nuclear bomb by at least a year, analysts believe.
Iran has until today to approve the plan, which was provisionally agreed earlier this month. Until that point Israel was “on a glide path” to ordering a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, one expert has said, echoing the privately-held views of some in the Obama Administration.