IRGC commander: Hizbullah more prepared than ever for massive attack on Israel

Hizbullah has missiles that can reach every part of Israel, an IRGC commander said.

 

Hizbullah is producing its own missiles in well-protected factories in Lebanon and has raised its level of preparedness for a massive attack on Israel, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander said.

Iran has opened factories in Lebanon to manufacture long-range missiles as well as other munitions and has recently passed ownership of the factories to Hizbullah, the commander, who opted to remain anonymous, told Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida.

Iran ready to give U.S. ‘slap in the face’: commander

Head of Iran’s Revolutionary guards ground forces Mohammad Pakpour (C) attends a funeral ceremony in Tehran October 20, 2009. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl

 

Since taking office last month, U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to get tough with Iran, warning the Islamic Republic after its ballistic missile test on Jan. 29 that it was playing with fire and all U.S. options were on the table.

“The enemy should not be mistaken in its assessments, and it will receive a strong slap in the face if it does make such a mistake,” said General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Guards’ ground forces, quoted by the Guards’ website Sepahnews.

Hamas missiles target nuclear facility as likelihood of Israel invasion of Gaza increases

Hamas militants launched a salvo of missiles at Israel’s main nuclear facility Wednesday night, raising the likelihood of an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Three rockets were aimed towards the southern Israeli town of Dimona and the nearby Negev nuclear reactor and research centre, where Israel’s atomic weapons program is thought to be based.

Two of the rockets fell in open areas and the other was intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defensive shield, with none causing casualties, an Israeli army spokesman said.

However, the symbolic aggression of the act may raise expectations that Israel will press ahead with threats to launch a full-scale ground operation to dismantle Hamas’s military infrastructure.

The threat to the nuclear facility came as Gaza saw its bloodiest day of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, with at least 22 people, reportedly including nine children and six women, killed in air strikes.

Iranian simulation: Missiles on Ben Gurion – While Geneva talks make progress towards agreement, Iranian state television broadcast simulated missile attack on Israel

An agreement between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program seems imminent, but the charm offensive in Geneva is not mirrored at home. In Tehran, the Iranian government sent a different message with a broadcast on state television of a simulated missile attack on Israel.

Spreading Iranian cyber attacks hit Israeli military, US financial and Gulf oil targets

Also on Thursday, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta unveiled his “pre-9/11 moment” speech which revealed that for two weeks, hackers had been hammering the websites of big American banks, the Saudi national oil company Aramco and Qatar’s Rasgas.In a strong comment, he said the US would strike back and consider a preemptive strike against cyber terrorism, without saying how or actually naming Iran.

However in leaks to the American media, former U.S. government officials and cyber-security experts reported that the administration believes Iranian-based hackers were responsible for what Panetta warned could be the first “cyber Pearl Harbor” against America.