Israel orders US stealth planes to counter Iran, Syria threat

October 11th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Amid growing tensions with Iran, the United States and Israel will reportedly conduct a joint missile defense exercise this week in order to simulate a response in the event of war between Israel, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. The 'Juniper Cobra exercise' will begin on Monday and conclude on Friday and more than 1,000 American troops from the European Command in Germany have been deployed in Israel for the whole process, The Jerusalem Post reports.

October 9th, 2009 TEHRAN - Mojtaba Zolnour, an aide to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly said that if the US or Israel attacks Iran, Teheran would retaliate and "blow up the heart of Israel". Zolnour threatened that "Even if one American or Zionist missile hits our country, before the dust settles, Iranian missiles will blow up the heart of Israel', The Jerusalem Post reports.

September 30th, 2009 Syria calls for Israel to join nuclear treatyUNITED NATIONS — Syria says Israel must comply with the demands of the International Atomic Energy Agency if the Mideast is to become a region free of weapons of mass destruction. Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Al-Moualem echoed on Monday calls by many Arab nations at the U.N.

September 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Israel has rejected reports which suggested that it has ruled out using military power to counter Iran's nuclear weapon programme. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Israel can not guarantee it will not strike Iran.

September 17th, 2009 VIENNA - Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed Thursday to call for a Middle East free of nuclear arms, with more countries supporting the resolution than last year. At the IAEA's annual general conference, 103 countries voted in favour, none against.

September 3rd, 2009 Venezuelan president bashes Israel in Syria tripDAMASCUS, Syria — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attacked Israel Thursday during his visit to Syria, calling it an imperialist nation that annihilates other people. Chavez comments came during a news conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad after a one-hour meeting at the hilltop presidential palace.

July 20th, 2009 JERUSALEM - A senior US defense official has warned that an Israeli strike on Iran could have profoundly destabilizing consequences, and would directly affect US interests. "A unilateral third-party attack on Iran's nuclear program could have profoundly destabilizing consequences, and it wouldn't just affect the general level of stability in the region.

July 16th, 2009 Israel: Iran, Syria still send arms to HezbollahJERUSALEM — Israel accused Iran and Syria Thursday of sending weapons to Lebanon's Hezbollah in violation of a U.N. cease-fire after one of the militant group's arms warehouses in south Lebanon blew up.

June 22nd, 2009 BERLIN - Iran's nuclear weapons programme could destabilise the Middle East and is a threat not just to Israel but the entire world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. In an interview published Monday in German daily Bild, he said the main goal should be to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

June 17th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The chief of Israel's intelligence agency has expressed fear over Iran's capability to make a nuclear bomb by 2014, which he claims, could have "an existential threat to Israel." "Iran wants to be like Egypt was in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a lot of cooperation between Iran, North Korea and Syria.

June 7th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel Sunday urged the international community to take determined action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The Israeli foreign ministry also questioned the UN nuclear watchdog's ability to monitor Iran's nuclear programme.

May 18th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama has said he understands why Israel considers Iran an existential threat. "I understand very clearly that Israel considers Iran an existential threat, and given some of the statements that have been made by [Iranian] President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, you can understand why," The Jerusalem Post quoted Obama, as saying.

May 8th, 2009 Boeing plane orders tumble in AprilPITTSBURGH — Boeing Co. says orders for its jetliners fell by more than 70 percent in April as the economic downturn continued to dampen demand from airlines and cargo planes.

April 28th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak has described Iran as the country posing the most central threat not only to the Jewish state, but also to the entire world. "Iran was "a threat to the entire world, as it is interested in changing the entire international order and is a source of instability in the Middle East and throughout the world," the Jerusalem Post quoted Barak, as saying.

April 26th, 2009 Israel: No preconditions to talks with SyriaJERUSALEM — Israel's foreign minister said Sunday that he was willing to sit down immediately with Syria to talk peace if there would be no preconditions, just days after saying that Damascus was not a partner for peace. Syria recently said it would be willing to resume indirect peace talks with the new Israeli government as long as they focused on a complete withdrawal from the Golan Heights.