Germany will sell Israel a fourth Dolphin-class submarine – the first since 2005 – and will finance a third of its costs, reports said Wednesday. Two of Israel's other Dolphins were paid for by Germany, while the third was half-funded by Israel. Two more are under construction.
Dolphin subs are the most expensive single vehicle in the Israel Defense Forces and are considered among the most sophisticated and capable conventional submarines in the world. Each submarine is armed with torpedo tubes, which are also capable of firing Sub-Harpoon missiles. The submarines are also able to deploy mines, and are reputed to be able to carry nuclear-tipped missiles.
Media analysts said that it was no coincidence that news of the deal was leaked on the day after Iranian students trashed the British Embassy in Tehran. “The story of the sale sends a message to Tehran that Israel and the West are not going to take much more of Iran's excesses,” said one analyst. “Dolphin subs are powerful weapons, and if they are used they will wreak havoc on Iran. I'm sure the message has been received by Tehran,” the analyst added.
U.S. Uncertain Israel Would Advise Before Iran Strike
US still convinced sanctions, diplomacy right path to take take on Iran, Israel may not share that perspective, top US military officer says; US fears fallout on world economy if Israel strikes Iran.
The top US military officer told Reuters on Wednesday he did not know whether Israel would alert the United States ahead of time if it decided to take military action against Iran.
General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also acknowledged differences in perspective between the United States and Israel over the best way to handle Iran and its nuclear program.
There has been concern that if world powers cannot nudge Iran into serious nuclear negotiations, then Israel, which feels threatened by Iranian nuclear aspirations, will attack.
Iran has warned that it will respond to any attacks by hitting Israeli and US interests in the Gulf. Analysts say Tehran could retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway where about 40 percent of all traded oil passes.
The Muslim Brotherhood's "Kill the Jews" Election Platform
Egyptians have gone to the polls in large numbers this week to cast their votes in the first stage of protracted parliamentary elections that will stretch into early next year. Meanwhile, the country’s military rulers do not appear to be going anywhere, unless forced out by mounting street protests and outside international pressure.
The main beneficiary of the elections will in all likelihood be the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leaders formed an alliance of convenience with the ruling military council to ensure that the elections would proceed as planned.
The Muslim Brotherhood?, Egypt’s largest and best-organized political force, wanted no delays that would give opponents the opportunity to catch up with its organizational prowess.
We got a taste of what is to come from the Muslim Brotherhood’s co-sponsored "kill the Jews” pep rally held last Friday in Cairo. According to a report in YNet News, about 5,000 people joined the rally at Cairo’s most prominent mosque, the Al-Azhar mosque. Over and over again, the crowd chanted passages from the Koran vowing that "one day we shall kill all the Jews.”
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