Israel charged on Tuesday that the growing missile power of Iran, Syria and Hizbullah has reached the level of posing "the gravest threat in modern times to the very existence of the Jewish state," pleading with the United States for swift military action to "wipe out this triangular peril."
"Iran's ballistic missiles, Syria's upgraded Scuds and Hizbullah's bulgy arsenal of short-range missiles in south Lebanon have rendered Israel vulnerable to the gravest peril it has ever faced," Israel's Army Radio quoted a military spokesman as saying. "Joint action by Israel and the U.S. is imperative."
These Israeli statements followed Iran's confirmation Monday that it had successfully test-fired a Shihab-3 ballistic missile that can hit anywhere in Israel.
Israel's Army Radio quoted military spokesmen as saying Israel possessed the necessary anti-missile missiles to shoot down Iranian Shihab-3s. "We have the full capability to match what the Iranians have today - the Shihab-3," the head of Israel's missile defense program told the Radio. But Israel has not developed the system that can cope with the Shihab-4 long-range ballistic missile that has much greater firepower. (Albawaba.com)
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