From the BBC news website.

 

Israel's defence minister has warned of his country's readiness to act against Iran if it feels threatened.

 

Ehud Barak, speaking in Tel Aviv, said Israel had "proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake".

 

He spoke as Iran's testing of missiles that could reach Israel stoked tensions between the two, and with the US.

 

But Mr Barak added that diplomatic solutions should be pursued before other options were taken up.

 

"Currently the focus is international sanctions and vigorous diplomatic activity, and these avenues should be exhausted," he said.

 

US warning

 

Over the past two days, the Iranian military has tested missiles, including one that it says could reach Israel.

 

State media said the tests included the first night launch of the Shahab-3 missile, said to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), along with shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles.

 

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be "confused" about US capabilities.

 

Israel has responded to the missile tests by putting on display one of its aircraft that it says can spy on Iran.

 

The state-run Israel Aerospace Industries says it has equipped its Eitam aeroplane, unveiled a year ago, with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems.

 

Mr Barak spoke of the "potential for accords, particularly with the Palestinians and the Syrians", but stressed that the situation was very complex.

 

Quoted by Israeli news website Ynet, Mr Barak said: "We must work towards an accord - but if not, then we must strike our enemy when it is required."

 

He also cautioned that Israel must consider the reactions from other nations in the region that could be provoked by action against Iran.

 

"The responses of our adversaries must be taken into account. Hamas and Hezbollah and the Syrians and the Iranians - there is activity all around us. And there exists a potential for confrontation."

 

The BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem says that in recent weeks both Israel and Iran have been testing and showing off their military hardware, each saying that in the event of provocation it is more than capable of defending itself.

 

The Israeli air force recently carried out a large-scale exercise over the Mediterranean - regarded by many observers as a dress rehearsal should the order be given to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, our correspondent says.

 

Israel believes Iran is building nuclear weapons, although Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian energy.

 

Western leaders have been trying to convince Iran to stop enriching uranium, which it has continued doing despite sanctions from the UN and the European Union.

 

Could the actions of Iran and Israel through the middle east into major conflict?

I'm sorry to sound slightly unpatriotic to the West.

 

But why the hell can't Iran test these sort of missiles?

 

After all with that geriatric Right-Wing war mongering Republican Presidential candidate who thinks this is soooooo hilarious:

 

McCann "Bomb Iran"

 

The way that Israel & the USA are behaving over this are showing exactly why they are hated by over one third of the world.

 

Or do people think it is perfectly OK to threaten Islamic countries with missiles, but not the other way around?

... if i was an iranian living in iran right now id be pushing for the development of nuclear arms, as im sure iranians must feel very threatend.

 

however, this is a very difficult situation because personally i dont agree with nuclear arms.. but they are a sad fact of life.

... if i was an iranian living in iran right now id be pushing for the development of nuclear arms, as im sure iranians must feel very threatend.

 

however, this is a very difficult situation because personally i dont agree with nuclear arms.. but they are a sad fact of life.

 

This is pretty much how I feel, I hate the idea of nuclear weapons, but one cannot un-invent them.. Isreal has illegally procured nukes which can wipe out Iran in an instant, why the fukk should Iran not be allowed to have their own deterrant... Especially given the facts that both Bush and Presidential nominees such as McCain and Obama have quite openly threatened Iran with bombing....

 

I dont like the regime in Iran, but when you talk about the lives of hundreds of thousands of totally innocent civilians, well you have to say that the West should butt out and let them develop a deterrant to keep themselves safe from a neighbour which has proven their aggressive tendencies against the Islamic world for decades, not to mention aggressive foreign powers who are conducting a Crusade in the Middle East....

This is pretty much how I feel, I hate the idea of nuclear weapons, but one cannot un-invent them.. Isreal has illegally procured nukes which can wipe out Iran in an instant, why the fukk should Iran not be allowed to have their own deterrant... Especially given the facts that both Bush and Presidential nominees such as McCain and Obama have quite openly threatened Iran with bombing....

 

I dont like the regime in Iran, but when you talk about the lives of hundreds of thousands of totally innocent civilians, well you have to say that the West should butt out and let them develop a deterrant to keep themselves safe from a neighbour which has proven their aggressive tendencies against the Islamic world for decades, not to mention aggressive foreign powers who are conducting a Crusade in the Middle East....

 

This is the same Iran that sponsors and funds terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, this is the same Iran that provided weapons for the IRA, this is the same Iran that had a war with Iraq, the first 3 instances are examples of Iran being a terrorist state and terrorist states should not have weapons like that, what is stopping Iran giving a few nukes to Hamas and Hezbollah for example to set off in New York or London ? and if Iran got into another war with Iraq what would stop them using nukes against Iraq never mind Israel

 

Iran is a rogue terrorist state they should be allowed nowhere near nuclear weapons

and if Iran got into another war with Iraq what would stop them using nukes against Iraq never mind Israel

Radioactive fallout being blown back in their face?

 

And war with Iraq while Britain and the US still there? They'd have to be bat $h!t bonkers to try that.

 

I don't think Iran would declare all out war against a country, they know it would give America their excuse to go to war.

Iran is a rogue terrorist state

 

And Israel isn't... <_<

This is the same Iran that sponsors and funds terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, this is the same Iran that provided weapons for the IRA, this is the same Iran that had a war with Iraq, the first 3 instances are examples of Iran being a terrorist state and terrorist states should not have weapons like that

 

Okay, America funded and armed a terrorist organisation called the Contras, they CIA used drug money to fund terrorist activities in Central America, they illegally gave nuclear weapons to Israel flying in the face of UN non-proliferation treaties, the US looked the other way while NORAID was financing and fundraising terrorist activities in Northern Ireland, their Govt allowed the likes of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinnes to make speeches and raise funds for the IRA; the US illegally bombed Libya, illegally invaded Panama and Iraq....

 

So, er, why, EXACTLY is the good ole US of A not considered a fukkin' rogue state then..... HYPOCRISY...... <_<

 

Everything you accuse Iran of can easily be applied to America in some way....

Iran tried to deceive world by 'testing' old missiles, US experts believe

By Philip Sherwell in New York and Carolynne Wheeler in Jerusalem

DailY Telegraph.co.uk: 10:47PM BST 12/07/2008

 

Iran attempted to deceive the world with last week's high-profile weapons test by claiming that a 10-year-old missile was a new, longer-range version capable of striking Israel, US intelligence officials and independent analysts believe.

 

Analysis of Iranian television coverage has also indicated that one of the weapons actually remained on the ground but the video was doctored in an effort to cover up the failure.

 

The tests were the latest escalation in muscle-flexing between Iran and Israel as the threat of war grows over the Islamic regime's nuclear ambitions.

 

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, is to urge the Bush administration to adopt a tougher line against Iran and will try to persuade the American public of the need for military action during a three-day visit to Washington this week, a former top adviser said.

 

Iran claimed last week to have tested a new version of the Shahab missile with a 1,250-mile range that would put in range much of the Middle East, including Israel and Turkey and the Arabian peninsula, and Pakistan.However, a respected independent national security website, ArmsControlWonk.com, concluded that the missiles were identical to an earlier version of the Shahab, first unveiled by Iran in 1998 with a known range of 746 miles.

 

In a posting called "Same old Boring Shahab 3", it analysed Iranian video footage, comparing the diameter of the missile to its length and found it to be identical to the decade-old version.

 

Other defence analysts believe that the missile was a Shahab 3a model with a 900-mile range.

 

Iran also issued misleading statements about the ranges and doctored videos to make the firings seem more numerous and fearsome than reality, The New York Times reported.

 

Coverage showing what appeared to be many missiles being fired was apparently just one device, filmed from different angles. "Deception was rampant," said Charles Vick, an expert on the Iranian missile programme at Global Security, a prominent defence think tank.

 

Despite the deception, the Pentagon said it was taking the tests seriously, viewing them as an attempt further to destabilise the region.

"We don't believe this exercise to have been an illusion," said Geoff Morrell, a spokesman.

But he added: "They were not testing new technologies or capabilities, but rather firing off old equipment in an attempt to intimidate their neighbours and escalate tension in the region."

 

Tehran's show of strength followed a recent Israeli military exercise apparently designed to prepare for possible air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran claims the programme is for civilian energy purposes, but Israeli and Western intelligence believe it is seeking atomic arms.

 

As Mr Barak arrives in Washington tomorrow there is increasing alarm among Israeli leaders at America's perceived reluctance to consider military action to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, according to the Jewish state's former national security adviser, Uzi Dayan.

"We need to persuade the US not to take this issue off the agenda," said the retired major-general, a senior aide to Mr Barak when he was prime minister.

 

Mr Barak's visit is part of a series of Israeli efforts to convince Washington of the Iranian threat. Mossad chief Meir Dagan has just wrapped up a round of talks in the US, while the Israeli army's chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, is expected to travel to Washington shortly.

 

Last week's missile tests sent oil prices soaring from $136 to $147 a barrel, delivering a windfall gain worth billions of dollars to Iran's oil-based economy.

Iran tried to deceive world by 'testing' old missiles, US experts believe

By Philip Sherwell in New York and Carolynne Wheeler in Jerusalem

DailY Telegraph.co.uk: 10:47PM BST 12/07/2008

 

Iran attempted to deceive the world with last week's high-profile weapons test by claiming that a 10-year-old missile was a new, longer-range version capable of striking Israel, US intelligence officials and independent analysts believe.

 

Analysis of Iranian television coverage has also indicated that one of the weapons actually remained on the ground but the video was doctored in an effort to cover up the failure.

 

The tests were the latest escalation in muscle-flexing between Iran and Israel as the threat of war grows over the Islamic regime's nuclear ambitions.

 

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, is to urge the Bush administration to adopt a tougher line against Iran and will try to persuade the American public of the need for military action during a three-day visit to Washington this week, a former top adviser said.

 

Iran claimed last week to have tested a new version of the Shahab missile with a 1,250-mile range that would put in range much of the Middle East, including Israel and Turkey and the Arabian peninsula, and Pakistan.However, a respected independent national security website, ArmsControlWonk.com, concluded that the missiles were identical to an earlier version of the Shahab, first unveiled by Iran in 1998 with a known range of 746 miles.

 

In a posting called "Same old Boring Shahab 3", it analysed Iranian video footage, comparing the diameter of the missile to its length and found it to be identical to the decade-old version.

 

Other defence analysts believe that the missile was a Shahab 3a model with a 900-mile range.

 

Iran also issued misleading statements about the ranges and doctored videos to make the firings seem more numerous and fearsome than reality, The New York Times reported.

 

Coverage showing what appeared to be many missiles being fired was apparently just one device, filmed from different angles. "Deception was rampant," said Charles Vick, an expert on the Iranian missile programme at Global Security, a prominent defence think tank.

 

Despite the deception, the Pentagon said it was taking the tests seriously, viewing them as an attempt further to destabilise the region.

"We don't believe this exercise to have been an illusion," said Geoff Morrell, a spokesman.

But he added: "They were not testing new technologies or capabilities, but rather firing off old equipment in an attempt to intimidate their neighbours and escalate tension in the region."

 

Tehran's show of strength followed a recent Israeli military exercise apparently designed to prepare for possible air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran claims the programme is for civilian energy purposes, but Israeli and Western intelligence believe it is seeking atomic arms.

 

As Mr Barak arrives in Washington tomorrow there is increasing alarm among Israeli leaders at America's perceived reluctance to consider military action to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, according to the Jewish state's former national security adviser, Uzi Dayan.

"We need to persuade the US not to take this issue off the agenda," said the retired major-general, a senior aide to Mr Barak when he was prime minister.

 

Mr Barak's visit is part of a series of Israeli efforts to convince Washington of the Iranian threat. Mossad chief Meir Dagan has just wrapped up a round of talks in the US, while the Israeli army's chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, is expected to travel to Washington shortly.

 

Last week's missile tests sent oil prices soaring from $136 to $147 a barrel, delivering a windfall gain worth billions of dollars to Iran's oil-based economy.

 

So, er, what's the fuss about then....? I mean, excuse me, but seems to me that all they were doing was bluffing in order to dissuade people from attacking them, a bit like a little dog that barks a lot but essentially will scurry off as soon as you confront it.... Again DEFENSIVE, not offensive.....

 

Okay, America funded and armed a terrorist organisation called the Contras, they CIA used drug money to fund terrorist activities in Central America, they illegally gave nuclear weapons to Israel flying in the face of UN non-proliferation treaties, the US looked the other way while NORAID was financing and fundraising terrorist activities in Northern Ireland, their Govt allowed the likes of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinnes to make speeches and raise funds for the IRA; the US illegally bombed Libya, illegally invaded Panama and Iraq....

 

So, er, why, EXACTLY is the good ole US of A not considered a fukkin' rogue state then..... HYPOCRISY...... <_<

 

Everything you accuse Iran of can easily be applied to America in some way....

 

...Oh, and I missed out the "small" matter of George Walker Bush and his Neo-Con Republican buddies committing a virtual Coup D'Etat in the November 2000 Elections of which Robert Mugabe would've been proud.....

 

I mean, do I need to ADD more to this list of America's crimes against Humanity, true Democracy and human decency, or do your reckon you've got it by now..? Because I could mention the Vietnam War and the US's use of Chemical and biological weapons upon the civilians of Vietnam and Cambodia, a war which ultmately cost the lives of over 4 MILLION Vietnamese civilians......