Israeli Air Force Simulates Attack on Iran Nuclear Targets
The Israeli Air Force simulated an attack on Iranian nuclear targets with dozens of fighter jets over the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday night, the Israeli military said.
The drill included “long-range flight, aerial refueling and striking distant targets,” the army said.
It came as experts warned Iran could build a few crude nuclear bombs in as little as three months.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog on Monday warned that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has swelled to more than 18 times the limit stipulated in the Obama-led nuclear deal.
The drill against Iranian nuclear facilities was part of a larger, month-long exercise called “Chariots of Fire” in Cyprus, simulating a multi-front war. The aim was to prepare the Israel Defense Forces for multi-arm combat scenarios in the air, at sea, on land and the cyber front against adversaries including the Iranian proxy terror group, Hezbollah.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz visited the joint military exercise, which was done in conjunction with Cyprus’ National Guard.
“The IDF is constantly preparing for various operations and systems and will deal a severe blow to anyone who seeks to threaten the citizens of the State of Israel,” Gantz said during the visit. “This is the peak of one of the largest and most extensive exercises we have conducted in years.”
IDF’s ground troops employed combat helicopters, and practiced emergency evacuations with transport helicopters, the army said.
