Israel needs US say-so to attack Iran

Tel Aviv, December 27: Tel Aviv's allegations against Tehran's nuclear program without first ensuring US 'green light,' a political analyst says.

“In practice, since 2009, the US military controls Israel's Air Defense system, which is integrated into the US global missile defense system,” Michel Chossudovsky, the director of the Center for Research on Globalization, wrote in an article published on the Global Research website on Friday.

“Under these circumstances, Israel cannot launch a war against Iran without the consent of Washington and the involvement of the Pentagon,” he added.

The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Tehran with the "option" of a military strike based on the allegation, championed by Washington, Tel Aviv, and their allies, that Iran's nuclear activities may comprise a covert military agenda.

Iran has refuted the allegations, saying that, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Chossudovsky, who is also an emeritus professor of economics at the University of Ottawa, Canada, went on to note that 'large shipments of US ordinance to Israel,' the transfer of which have increased in recent years, “are part of a broader weapons arsenal under the (direct or indirect) control of the Pentagon.”

“This reinforcement of Israel's missile defenses combined with the large shipments of US weapons should be viewed as part of ongoing war plans directed against Iran,” he explained.

Israel recently test-fired a new long-range missile, known as Jericho-3, capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The test was carried out at the Palmahim airbase in central Israel. This three-stage missile, which is capable of flying a 750-kilo warhead, is estimated to have a range of up to 10,000 kilometers.

Since 1958, when Israel began building its Dimona plutonium- and uranium-processing facility in the Negev desert, it has secretly manufactured scores of nuclear warheads, earning reputation as the sole owner of such weapons in the Middle East.

Former US President Jimmy Carter has attested to the existence of the arsenal, which, he has said, includes between 200 to 300 warheads.

Amid the harshly-toned and increasing Western allegations against Iran, analysts have questioned the West's continued refusal to consider Israel's aggressive military agenda to be a threat against Iran.

Iranian officials have reacted strongly to the American and Israeli war rhetoric, saying that the Islamic Republic will deliver a crushing response to any military strike against the country.

------Agencies