Israel should attack Iran's nuclear facilities – Tehran can't stop it - opinion

This past weekend, the Jewish state conducted a master class in how to call a hostile foe’s bluff and severely incapacitate it with strategic precision.

Over the course of just several hours, the Israel Air Force (IAF) reportedly succeeded in destroying much of the air defense system that Iran had spent the past two decades building, while also obliterating the ayatollahs’ missile production capabilities.

The attack, which came in response to the barrage of ballistic missiles that Iran fired against Israel on October 1, is nothing less than a momentous development, one that potentially changes the entire calculus of the conflict between Iran and Israel.

But as successful as the strike was, it would be a grave mistake for Israel to stop now.

Rather than serving as a finale, Israel’s daring raid should be a prelude to eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat once and for all.

Ending the Iran nuclear threat forever

One of the most salient outcomes of Israel’s blitz was that Iran’s military, governmental, and economic infrastructure has been left completely exposed. Or as former White House National Security Council member Richard Goldberg told the Washington Free Beacon website on October 27, “We should understand that Tehran is naked right now; the ayatollah has no clothes.”

A former high-ranking Mossad official, Oded Eilam, seconded this view. In an interview with Erel Segal on Radio 103FM, Eilam said, “Iran is in its most difficult situation since August 1988, when the Iran-Iraq war ended, and it is absolutely vulnerable.” He also pointed out that Iran does not have the equivalent of Israel’s Arrow missile defense system, nor has it built bomb shelters for its population.

The centerpiece of Iran’s air defenses was the S-300, a Russian-made surface-to-air missile (SAM) system capable of downing aircraft and drones. According to The Wall Street Journal, Iran possessed four S-300 systems, all of which were destroyed by the IAF.

The raid highlighted both Israel’s military prowess and Iran’s defensive weakness.

Just consider the fact that this was anything but a surprise attack.

A leak of classified American intelligence information about preparations for the assault made that clear, and there were even media reports late last week that Israel might have tipped its hand about the timing.

So even though the Iranians knew the attack was coming, they still proved completely incapable of thwarting it.

That alone sent a clear and unequivocal message that Israel has the ability to hit Iran when it wants and where it wants.

To accomplish this feat, Israel had to send over 100 planes to travel 1,600 kilometers. They needed to traverse enemy territory in Syria and Iraq, refuel in midair, and carry out coordinated strikes at different locations throughout Iran, a country equivalent in size to Texas.

That is no small feat, especially when one considers that Israel did not lose a single plane or pilot in the process.

Earlier this year, in its Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in Washington said, “Iran’s missile, UAV, air defense, and naval capabilities will continue to threaten US and partner commercial and military assets in the Middle East.”

While most of that sentence remains true, the part about “air defense” now needs to be excised.

In that respect, Israel has done the entire Middle East, as well as the Western world, a huge favor.

As Goldberg noted, “Israel fundamentally altered the battlefield in a positive way for the United States and close allies, not just for itself.”

Simply put, by stripping away Iran’s ability to defend its own territory and vital infrastructure from air attacks, the IAF has now made it significantly easier for Israel or the US to take military action against the ayatollahs’ nuclear program.

And that is precisely what needs to happen next.

With their military and nuclear sites now vulnerable, Iran’s leaders might very well decide to accelerate their efforts to build the bomb while they still can.

This is a risk that neither Israel nor America can take.

TO BE sure, a full-blown attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would still carry with it significant risks.

A recent paper issued by the Council on Foreign Relations concluded that “Iran has varied capabilities, including deep and diverse arsenals of cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. US intelligence analysts say that Iran has the largest ballistic missile inventory in the Middle East.”

This includes long-range missiles that can strike targets up to 2,000 kilometers away, including parts of Europe.

But with mounting opposition to the tyrants of Tehran at home, and the aerial pathway toward the targets now cleared, this is a historic opportunity to shut down the mullahs’ nuclear program for good.

For the sake of Israel and future generations, we cannot allow it to pass us by.

The writer served as deputy communications director under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.