Paper: Netanyahu Was Going To Strike Iran Until Obama Threatened To Shoot Down Israeli Jets
[su_right_ad]The Israeli prime minister was planning to strike Iran in 2014, according to a Kuwaiti newspaper.
Following Obama’s threat, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was reportedly forced to abort the planned Iran attack.
According to Al-Jarida, the Netanyahu government took the decision to strike Iran some time in 2014 soon after Israel had discovered the United States and Iran had been involved in secret talks over Iran’s nuclear program and were about to sign an agreement in that regard behind Israel’s back.
The report claimed that an unnamed Israeli minister who has good ties with the US administration revealed the attack plan to Secretary of State John Kerry, and that Obama then threatened to shoot down the Israeli jets before they could reach their targets in Iran.
Al-Jarida quoted “well-placed” sources as saying that Netanyahu, along with Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon, and then-Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, had decided to carry out airstrikes against Iran’s nuclear program after consultations with top security commanders.
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mea_mark March 1st, 2015 at 12:43 pm
Interesting timing, this coming out now. Is this going to be an excuse for Bibi to not come and make a speech?
tracey marie March 1st, 2015 at 12:50 pm
good point, also shows how Israel and bibi are hell bent on having a last stand war in the Middle East.
Dwendt44 March 1st, 2015 at 1:59 pm
And you can bet the farm that they would love for us to join in. They’ve been getting the U.S. to do what they want for many years. The $3 Billion a year if foreign aid (plus a couple Billion more under the table) is never enough and they know and use the fact that we wouldn’t dare abandon them or even punish them for any mis-deeds.
tracey marie March 1st, 2015 at 2:12 pm
Very true, bibi is surprised he is not able to manipulate our country and President.
wendell March 1st, 2015 at 2:07 pm
I would think that Bibi is more hell bent on insuring the survival of his country. Iran is certainly hell bent on the destruction of Israel. Once they possess nuclear weapons nothing will stop them. How do we forget that fact? I don’t understand the sudden groundswell of hatred in America for Israel.
tracey marie March 1st, 2015 at 2:12 pm
you mistake anger for hatred, we are America not Israel. Israel does not get to dictate what we, as a country do, period.I do not understand the hate for our twice elected President and the glorification of Israel and bibi.
arc99 March 1st, 2015 at 2:32 pm
Even if Iran possessed nuclear weapons, they would risk not only their own annihilation from an Israeli reprisal, but also the annihilation of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of Palestinians, Lebanese, and Jordanians from the result of a direct blast from an Iranian bomb and the lingering fallout.
Please take a look at a map and explain how Iran could take out Israel without also destroying the entire west bank along with Jerusalem which is the location of some of the holiest sites in the Muslim world. You cannot destroy Israel with a nuclear bomb without devastating the Muslim population in the region. The distance between the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv and the Jordanian capital Amman is less than 70 miles. If the Jordanians whose capital city would likely be rendered uninhabitable by an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel are not worried, please explain why the United States should be.
We spent 10 years in Iraq, which cost us trillions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, and nearly 40,000 military casualties. It is long past time to STOP listening to the people demanding we expend American resources to address yet another alleged threat which likely does not exist either.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Exactly.
Dwendt44 March 1st, 2015 at 2:38 pm
While that is a strong point in favor of Iran NOT attacking Israel, they could be working on a dirty bomb or a ‘suitcase’ device which would localize any blast and limiting fallout. I’m sure any ‘attack’ of any kind would consider the prevailing winds, etc…
arc99 March 1st, 2015 at 2:48 pm
True enough. A suitcase device would eliminate those concerns and result in an incident like the Boston Marathon bombing with radioactive material infecting a few square blocks.
Of course that means taking out uranium enrichment facilities in Iran is kind of pointless since enriched uranium is not necessary to create such a bomb. So would hospital radiology departments in Tehran be the next target?
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:35 pm
What makes you think Iran is “hell bent’ on the destruction of Israel”..(other than politicians talking smack)
Iranian leaders know if they had a nuke and dropped it on Iran, the repercussion would be the obliteration of Persia/Iran..
thud March 1st, 2015 at 5:01 pm
Do you say that Iran is as a whole is willing to suicide just to put a nuke on Israel?
Angelo_Frank March 1st, 2015 at 12:56 pm
On the other hand, can one believe Al-Jarida as a trustworthy news source? Just asking.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker March 1st, 2015 at 9:25 pm
Exactly… and the timing of this “announcement” reeks of Bibi’s propaganda.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 1:06 pm
From what I understand, Israel doesn’t have the capability to do air strikes on Iran..
The F-16 doesn’t have the fuel capacity to carry out air strikes in Iran and return, and Israel doesn’t have airborne fuel tankers required to make it possible..
And as for the “Obama would shoot down Israeli fighters”..
Thats bull shit.
thud March 1st, 2015 at 4:55 pm
Why.are you sure that they have not aquired some equipment capable of carrying out this attack? They have had many years to prepare. As to shooting them down, why not?
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 5:51 pm
I’m not sure what ya mean..
But I do dig the Zap Comic/Robert Crumb avatar~!
Brings back some old memories.
thud March 1st, 2015 at 5:58 pm
Glad you like the Zap! What I’m suggesting is that the Israelis, having had years to plan, may have an aircraft or two that could make this mission work. Say perhaps a couple of F111’s, which were designed for this sort of task.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 6:48 pm
I’m no expert on Israel’s Air force..(Holiday Inn excluded)..
This is what I read that they have..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Air_Force#Current
It may or may not be accurate.
but to the best of my limited knowledge, it the best I can offer..;)
thud March 1st, 2015 at 7:13 pm
And the best that I can offer is the sincere belief that they are perfectly capable of obtaining hardware needed on the sly.
StoneyCurtisll March 2nd, 2015 at 1:28 am
Indeed.
mea_mark March 1st, 2015 at 7:27 pm
See Israel here … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbit_Hermes_450 Looks like they may have tried something in August 2014.
Dwendt44 March 1st, 2015 at 1:42 pm
The F-16 has a optimal range of over 1000 miles. Add the two drop tanks
and it’s significantly more. I doubt that Iran is THAT far away that
such a mission isn’t possible.
arc99 March 1st, 2015 at 1:43 pm
This sounds fishy. According to google maps, a straight line from Tel Aviv to Tehran is about 990 miles. Including the flight maneuvers to arrive at the target in Iran, that would be a minimum of a 2000 mile round trip flying over Jordanian or Saudi or Iraqi or Syrian air space. I am no aeronautical expert, but I tend to doubt that jet fighters can travel the same mileage range of a commercial airliner without refueling. And would those countries just stand by and do nothing as Israeli jets invade their air space on the way to Iran?
Of course, the Israelis did take out the power plant in Iraq in 1981. The round trip is roughly half that distance requiring only violation of Syrian air space to get to the target in Iraq. Syria had gotten its butt kicked in the Yom Kippur war a few years prior. Just guessing that the late senior President Assad was in no mood to militarily engage the Israelis again.
In any event, I just don’t see the Israelis being foolhardy enough to violate the airspace of multiple Arab countries to attack Iran in the current environment. What a wonderful recruiting tool for ISIS such a move would be.
In 1981 Iraq and Iran were sworn enemies. Attacking one would have the implicit blessing of the other. They are now BFF’s. The times they have a-changed…
Dwendt44 March 1st, 2015 at 2:01 pm
I wasn’t aware that the trip was quit that long. Still there are ways of extending the range of a fighter jet that isn’t public knowledge. Just not using the afterburner for take off saves a good amount of fuel.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:06 pm
They can load the F-16 with external fuel pods and extend the range 2x’s..but that doesn’t leave anyplace to put the bombs on it…:)
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:03 pm
The Israeli F-16 has a range of about 2,200 miles, (depending on what it is carrying), add the weight of a bomb load attached to the wings and it is much less.
And Israel doesn’t have airborne tankers required to make the return trip back.
Tel Aviv to Tehran is aprox 1,600 miles, (according to the wikinet)..
In short, if Israel had the ability to bomb Iran, I’m sure they would have done it by now..they sure haven’t let anything stand in their way before..
mea_mark March 1st, 2015 at 2:23 pm
I wonder, one way ticket, bail out with plane on autopilot right before going over land with sea rescue. Not likely but I can see workable scenarios. For that matter a nuke could probably go some other plane or maybe some kind of drone we don’t know about.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:30 pm
I did a little more research and found out that Israel does have airborne refueling ability..(this us recent)..
They have both a Boeing 707 air tanker and a C-130 air tanker…
I lean something new every day…:)
Dwendt44 March 1st, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Actually, they have 7 KC-707 tankers currently operational.
They still have the ‘air space’ problem but with fighter escorts, I doubt that they worry about that issue much.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:46 pm
And they (Israel) also have a arsenal of “nukes”, the number of which is estimated 200+. and they refuse to sign on to the non proliferation treaty.
I think they have the ability to assure Iran if they nuke The Jewish State, that Iran can be assured they will be a radioactive wasteland. .
William March 1st, 2015 at 4:24 pm
They have both, Boeing 707 air tankers
actually known as KC135’s
fancypants March 1st, 2015 at 6:52 pm
that would greatly depend if iran doesn’t get into an air battle with Israel fighters over or near iran ? Arc is right This would be a huge mistake if Netanyahu is serious about this and Obama would be doing him a favor by cutting the attack off
CHOCOL8MILK March 1st, 2015 at 7:24 pm
Although they have F-16s, the Israeli’s have the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and maintain a lower number of F-16 fighters now. Israel was the first international customer to operate the fifth-generation fighter (F-35). Their Air Force pilots are much more skilled than U.S. fighter pilots, although they lack the numbers when compared to the U.S. Not too worried about them defending themselves, and they do have bombing capabilities…as well as tanker capabilities….they practice near Dover Air Force Base, Delaware…at least they did when I was there.
StoneyCurtisll March 2nd, 2015 at 1:28 am
Looks like they ought to be able to take care of any “Iranian threat” on their own..
It wouldn’t be the first time they have bombed neighboring countries, Syrian nuclear plant several years ago and an Iraqi plant back in the early 80’s.
No way out March 1st, 2015 at 2:02 pm
Nonsense
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 2:26 pm
This whole idea that “Obama will shoot down Israeli planes attacking Iran” is something the likes of Newsmax would promote as truth..
It’s nonsense.
Israel doesn’t have the ability to carry out a successful attack on Iran’s underground nuclear energy facilities.
Dwendt44 March 1st, 2015 at 2:40 pm
Perhaps, but ‘bunker buster’ technology was either given to them (under the table) or their spys got that info from us anyway. They have a good size spy network here.
StoneyCurtisll March 1st, 2015 at 3:04 pm
Your right..
They did get those “bunker busters’ a few years ago..
Imagine the scenario, Israel makes a “preemptive” strike on Iran’s Nuke energy program..(an overt act of war)..
What happens next?
What if Iran feels as threatened by Israel’s known Nuke weapons and decided to “preemptively attack”..
This whole centuries old mythological religious hatred is not good for either side..
Especially when all the parties, Christian, Muslim and Jew have this “end times” apocalyptic prophesy they seem to want to play out..
It scares the hell out of me.
Spirit of America March 1st, 2015 at 5:15 pm
Parchin
mea_mark March 1st, 2015 at 2:40 pm
In the article it says they told Kerry about it. It will be interesting to see how Kerry responds to this article.
Spirit of America March 1st, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Parchin
raincheck March 1st, 2015 at 4:21 pm
I’m not sure Iran would nuke Israel…. I saw Bill Clinton in an interview, being asked what would happen if the North Koreans attacked and over-ran U.S. Soldiers stationed in S. Korea… He quickly replied “We would incinerate them”…. I would imagine it’s been made clear to Iran, they would would get the same treatment from Israel… I would love to know what the Policies are, on these issues. How could Iran think they can nuke Israel, and not become a wasteland?…
Spirit of America March 1st, 2015 at 5:26 pm
Iran runs annual drills simulating a nuke attack from america, been doing do for about a decade. They have a very extensive underground bunker system for the heads and special rg troops. And the most important thing in global chess is not what you will do, it is what does the opponent think you will do and do they care? The suicide bomber knows he is going to die, but still does it because he believes in several things that makes that palatable. Do the mullahs think that most of their populace(not all muslims mind you, just their nationals where the attack would be aimed) is worth the cost of wiping out their main foe for to a large degree? It is a stated goal at the national level, and they think they themselves have a good chance at surviving the onslaught.
When stakes are what they are, both sides better be dam* sure of what the other side can and will do.
raincheck March 1st, 2015 at 6:45 pm
I agree with …. some of what you said.
A “suicide bomber” is not the leader of a Country, so I doubt they would think alike, and I think they ‘would’ care if they faced annihilation… and in the case of an “extensive underground bunker system for the heads and special rg troops” what would they have left, when they came up for air? a wasteland? IMO they would worry more about what the U.S. would do… we are the only country to drop atomic bombs on another country…
“It is a stated goal at the national level, and they think they themselves have a good chance at surviving the onslaught” What exactly is their “official” stated goal at the National level? What does that even mean? I know they’ve talked about wiping out Israel, AND N. Korea keeps declaring war on the U.S.
I can’t say really.. for sure what any country would do, for sure… and neither can you..
Here is where I agree with you.. “When stakes are what they are, both sides better be dam* sure of what the other side can and will do”
Spirit of America March 1st, 2015 at 7:58 pm
Thoughtful post.
One caveat: you are projecting how you would think/act onto a totally different mindset/way of thinking. And I’m not trying to be insulting or combative, just an observation of the post & wording.
One of the goals of the state is the eradication of israel, it is in their charter to become a ruling mullah, as well as leadership in rg’s(note it is also in hamas’s public charter, a group directly supported by iran).
“A “suicide bomber” is not the leader of a Country, so I doubt they would
think alike, and I think they ‘would’ care if they faced annihilation”
1. They believe they themselves wouldn’t be annihilated.
2. Study the writings of some of the suicide bombers, then listen to several of the radio addresses given via radio tehran. Compare the thinking.
It really is all about how their culture views things when dealing with them, not at all how we view things. It is ‘alien’ in many regards unless studied and lived w/them to get a grip on it.
fahvel March 2nd, 2015 at 3:17 am
where and when, exactly, did the government of Iran state that their objective was to annihilate isreal?
rg9rts March 2nd, 2015 at 4:09 am
Since Bibi sees it a s a campaign issue….tell you what…I’ll go along with no nukes for Iran when Israel gives up theirs..
AmusedAmused March 2nd, 2015 at 8:27 am
Ahmadinejad has stated that the fate of Israel should be put to the vote of “native” inhabitants of the area; however, he and his supporters also take the position that all Jews are European — thereby basically denying all of the history of European anti-semitism. So, Jews don’t get a vote.
Spirit of America March 2nd, 2015 at 9:05 am
The answer to his question is actually in my 2nd paragraph of the post he replied to.
Ahmadinejad himself, both as and as not the pres of iran has made many statements pertaining to israel no longer existing but many ‘considered’ that just rhetoric, not necessarily a statement of state goals. What the leadership of the mullahs and rg’s swear to however is a statement of state goals, codified.
Dcbos March 1st, 2015 at 8:18 pm
Plain and simple this man is a dangerous hubris filled bully; the world should not deal with this man except from a position of treating him as an enemy of this country and Israel should throw him out of office or we do not send them a dime.
rg9rts March 2nd, 2015 at 4:07 am
He should have b*tched slapped him then
AmusedAmused March 2nd, 2015 at 8:07 am
I am sorry, but I am not going to take anything written about Israel by a Kuwaiti paper at face value. Particularly when it’s relying on anonymus sources.
Jimmy Cahill March 2nd, 2015 at 8:54 am
So far a bunch of he said, she said. No real facts or anything?
Scopedog March 2nd, 2015 at 10:37 am
Of course. Par for the course with the news media today.