Tel Aviv: Israel and the Gulf states are enhancing the scope of their military cooperation. As part of the Israeli preparations for a military clash with Iran, Israel has positioned a senior navy officer in Bahrain, to streamline the coordination of military actions with the Gulf States.
The coordination efforts comes in the backdrop of Iranian threat to use long range ballistic missiles to hit the Israeli nuclear site in Dimona, in Southern Israel. The Iranians have a plan to become a major weapon exporter with a focus on ballistic missiles.
Israel has declared that if Iran continues its nuclear program, it will act in “any needed way” to stop the process. The declaration point to another wave of attacks in what is dubbed the “Shadow War” Israel used to slow down the Iranian nuclear program. In this case, Israeli defence sources say the Iranians may retaliate.
As part of the Israeli preparations to a military clash with Iran, Israel has positioned a senior navy officer in Bahrain, to streamline the coordination of military actions with the Gulf States.
In a statement on Saturday, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said the appointment of the Israeli officer is related to an international coalition “to secure the freedom of navigation in the region”. Israeli sources say that the coordination officer is working closely with the US fifth fleet based in Manama, Bahrain.
And while the Vienna talks resume, Iran is declaring that it intends to become one of the world’s largest arms exporters if an agreement is reached in the Vienna talks. According to a report published by the website of Iran International, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Muhammad Bagheri, while attending a ceremony at Khomeini’s mausoleum on Monday, said his country would become one of the world’s largest arms exporters after the sanctions were lifted.
On Monday morning a fire broke out in an Iranian military base. The Iranians claim that the fire damaged a warehouse that was full with gasoline and oil. Middle Eastern sources say that the base is used for the upgrade of Iran’s arsenal of ballistic missiles.
In parallel with the eighth round of the nuclear talks in Vienna, and with an implied threat to Israel, Iran unveiled a new long-range strategic ground-to-ground missile “Khaybar Shekan” as part of the events of the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic. According to the official statement in Iran, the new missile is being considered a strategic achievement and it can accurately hit long-range targets.
The Iranian press, February 10 presented the new missile and its capabilities in the headlines. The Kihan newspaper, reflecting the opinion of the Iranian leader, wrote that “the range of the missile’s coverage covers the territory of the occupying regime (Israel) and US bases in the region.”
According to a report in the MEMRI website following the media in Muslim countries on February 9, 2022, Channel 1 (Iran) aired a report about the IRGC Aerospace Force’s recent unveiling of the Khaybar Shekan (“Khaybar Smasher”), a new surface-to-surface missile. According to the report, the missile is an “all-Iranian” strategic long-range precision missile with a range of 1,450 km. The report showed footage of missile testing from a “secret testing site” in Iran. IRGC General Mohammad Bagheri, Chief-of-Staff of Iran’s armed forces, told reporters that the enemies of Islam and Iran only understand the language of force. It is noteworthy that the missile’s name refers to the battle of Khaybar, in which the Muslims fought the Jews who inhabited the Khaybar oasis and defeated them.
The Iranian TV reported that the strategic, long-range, missile belongs to the third generation of IRGC’s long-range missiles, and it has some unique characteristics, like solid fuel, manoeuvrability, and extraordinary speed when hitting targets within a range of 1,450 km. The participants in the show claimed that the missile is very accurate, and its warhead can be guided to the target until the very last moment.”
Israeli sources say that Iran has accelerated its ballistic missiles program and is building launch sites in different parts of the country. Israel and the US are jointly developing the Arrow – 4 ballistic missile interceptor. The design is aimed at dealing with new threats posed mainly by the Iranian long-range ballistic missiles. The Arrow-4 will have winglets because it is designed to intercept inside the atmosphere. There was no official explanation or that capability.
An expert that talked on condition of anonymity said, “Israel needs to plan its missiles defence capabilities for many years to come. At this point, there is no hypersonic missile threat on Israel but when you design such an advanced interceptor, this capability should be included as some countries develop such missiles and in the Middle East you must expect the unexpected”.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
