Until recently, Iran had waged a war of attrition against Israel through proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Arab terror groups.
Now, however, the Iranian-Israeli war is reaching a stage where Israel will no longer be able to only deal with Iran’s proxies.
Two months ago, as The Bulletin reported Friday, Israel bombed shipments of medium-range rockets that emanated from the Sudan, with a range of 46 miles, apparently of the “Fajr 3” model.
This is not a small rocket, and it is one the Iranians manufacture specifically for Gaza. It is designed so it will be possible to dismantle it and smuggle it through border tunnels between Gaza and Israel.
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According to senior Israeli intelligence sources, Iran seeks to establish a rocket base on Israel’s southern border that can reach the Tel Aviv area from the south, after Iran already established a threatening Hezbollah base from the north.
This “stranglehold theory” established by Israeli intelligence is not theoretical one because Iran has been able to gain footholds on Israel’s northern and southern borders.
“We operate wherever we can target terrorist infrastructures: In near places-and in places less close,” said outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a conference at the Interdisciplinary Intelligence Center Herzliya, coming close to affirming reports of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike on Sudan.
Mr. Olmert went on to say at the event: “We hit them in a manner that enhances deterrence and strengthens the image of deterrence, which is no less important.
“This was true for the north, in a series of events, and it is true for the south in a series of events. There is no point in going into details – everyone can use his imagination on this matter. The fact is that those who need to know that there is no place where the State of Israel cannot operate. There is no such place.
“The State of Israel has never had more powerful deterrence than that which was built over the past few years,” Mr. Olmert said. “Military deterrence is not determined by newspaper headlines or by the random grumbling of self-interested political sources, but rather by what is projected towards those at whom the deterrence is aimed.”
David Bedein can be reached at dbedein@israelbehindthenews.com