BY RYAN JONES, ISRAEL TODAY—
Israel’s Home Front Command on Thursday held a nationwide drill simulating missile attacks on the Jewish state, just days after a report indicated that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were preparing for war.
Air raid sirens blared in Jerusalem and across northern Israel Thursday morning in a test of the warning system. Meanwhile, soldiers with the Home Front Command continued a week-long exercise in southern Israel simulating long-range missile attacks on hospitals, schools and other public buildings where mass casualties would be expected.
Last month, the Home Front Command held a drill simulating a massive unconventional missile strike on Tel Aviv.
Fears of a regional war have been driven by Israel’s public debate over whether or not to launch a preemptive attack on Iran’s nuclear program, which the IAEA recently confirmed is working toward the goal of nuclear weapons.
According to the British Telegraph, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is certain Israel will attack, and is preparing to retaliate. Western intelligence officials told the newspaper this week that Guards commander Gen. Mohammed Ali Jaafari recently ordered all of Iran’s long-range missiles to be moved to more secure locations in preparation for a retaliatory launch against Israel.
While such an exchange would certainly lead to wider hostilities with Syria, Lebanon and possibly the new regime in Egypt, it is unlikely that the entire Arab League would join in an attack on Israel. In fact, many Arab states would be pleased to have Israel solve the Iran nuclear problem.
