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Israel To Hold Nationwide Nuclear Attack Drill
Jerusalem (AFP) Feb 26, 2007 Israel will next month stage its first-ever nationwide drill simulating a nuclear and chemical missile attack on its cities, rescue services said Monday. The exercise was initiated by the army's homefront corps in the wake of last summer's war in Lebanon and Iran's calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and its controversial nuclear programme. Israel suspects is Iran is aiming to develop an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists its programme is for civilian energy purposes. The main scenarios which will be simulated are a massive rocket attack on cities as well as a "conventional and non-conventional missile attack," Magen David Adom rescue services spokesman Yerucham Mandola told AFP. During the drill -- which will include army rescue forces, police, medical and firefighting services -- air-raid sirens may be sounded across the entire country. The Hezbollah militia fired over 4,000 rockets against northern Israel during the war last summer, killing more than 40 civilians and paralysing the region's industry and economy. During the 1991 Gulf War, Israeli citizens were equipped with gas masks out of fear of a chemical attack. None of the missiles fired from Iraq against Israel were equipped with chemical warheads.
earlier related report Commodore Keith Winstanley's comments come ahead of a meeting of the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany, who will discuss more possible punitive measures against Iran, after imposing sanctions on the country late last year. "There are extra challenges facing us," Winstanley told the newspaper. "There have been a series of Iranian exercises in the northern Gulf to the point that it's a bit like with the Russians at the height of the Cold War. "We just have to hope that's not a recipe for miscalculation," he was quoted as saying by the Telegraph. On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defied Western threats to impose more sanctions, saying that Iran's atomic drive was like a "train with no brakes". Winstanley told the newspaper that Britain has nearly doubled its naval deployments in the region since October, saying: "If you look at the UK component we have almost doubled it ... Most of these ships are here on training missions but there is no doubt that we could use the warfighting capabilities they possess."
Source: Agence France-Presse Email This Article
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Tokyo (AFP) Feb 26, 2007Japan urged North Korea Monday to come clean on its suspected secret atomic programme based on enriched uranium after reaching a breakthrough nuclear deal at six-nation talks. The February 13 agreement, which initially binds North Korea to shut key nuclear facilities in exchange for energy aid, requires Pyongyang to produce a list of all nuclear programmes. |
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