Israel seeks swift motion on Iran, sources say, with a break up US administration | USAEMALL.com

ISRAELI STRIKE ON FORDOW INCREASINGLY LIKELY

Publicly, Netanyahu has not ruled out Israel attacking Fordow alone, though officials have not provided any details on how that would be achieved. 

Four sources said it is now increasingly likely that the country will launch a solo military operation. Israeli air superiority over much of Iran makes an operation more feasible, though still risky, said two of the sources.

The Israelis feel they have the momentum and have limited time given the costs of the war, one source added.

“I don’t see them waiting much longer,” said the source.

It is not clear whether such an operation would involve bombing, ground forces, or both. Two of the sources said that rather than attempting to destroy the entire site, Israel could instead do significant damage to it.

That could mean focusing on destroying what is inside the site rather than the site itself, said one of the sources, declining to elaborate.

Some analysts have speculated that Israel could use special forces to enter Fordow and blow it up from inside.

Another scenario being considered, according to a source familiar with the matter, would be to drop a series of munitions in rapid succession in an attempt to breach the fortified site, similar to how the Israeli military killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last year.

Such a strike could be followed by an incursion by special forces, the source said.

It is not clear that Israel has munitions powerful enough to penetrate the fortified facility. It is widely believed that to have a high chance of success, US intervention would be needed.

But even with the massive firepower of a joint US-Israeli military action, military and nuclear experts believe that a military operation would probably only temporarily set back a programme the West fears is already aimed at producing atom bombs one day, although Iran denies it.