http://www.timesonli...icle7140282.ece

Three German-built Israeli submarines equipped with nuclear cruise missiles are to be deployed in the Gulf near the Iranian coastline.

The first has been sent in response to Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, Syria and Hezbollah, a political and military organisation in Lebanon, could hit sites in Israel, including air bases and missile launchers.

The submarines of Flotilla 7 — Dolphin, Tekuma and Leviathan — have visited the Gulf before. But the decision has now been taken to ensure a permanent presence of at least one of the vessels.

The flotilla’s commander, identified only as “Colonel O”, told an Israeli newspaper: “We are an underwater assault force. We’re operating deep and far, very far, from our borders.”

Each of the submarines has a crew of 35 to 50, commanded by a colonel capable of launching a nuclear cruise missile.

The vessels can remain at sea for about 50 days and stay submerged up to 1,150ft below the surface for at least a week. Some of the cruise missiles are equipped with the most advanced nuclear warheads in the Israeli arsenal.

The deployment is designed to act as a deterrent, gather intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents. “We’re a solid base for collecting sensitive information, as we can stay for a long time in one place,” said a flotilla officer.

The submarines could be used if Iran continues its programme to produce a nuclear bomb. “The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise missiles can reach any target in Iran,” said a navy officer.

Apparently responding to the Israeli activity, an Iranian admiral said: “Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a forceful response from us.”

Israel’s urgent need to deter the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance was demonstrated last month. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, was said to have shown President Barack Obama classified satellite images of a convoy of ballistic missiles leaving Syria on the way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, will emphasise the danger to Obama in Washington this week.

Tel Aviv, Israel’s business and defence centre, remains the most threatened city in the world, said one expert. “There are more missiles per square foot targeting Tel Aviv than any other city,” he said.

I would imagine that the Iranian armed forces have at least a fairly decent antisubmarine capability.  If they do, putting the Israeli submarine fleet in the Persian Gulf could be a problem, as conventional submarines eventually do have to surface and are thus detectable, and the Persian Gulf is not all that big.  The claim that the subs can stay submerged for a week does not also say that in order to do so, the sub would need to become nearly stationary and, again, vulnerable.

The idea that these submarines need to be deployed "near the Iranian costline" or even in the Persian Gulf is a bit of misinformation.  The value of a modern submarine-based nuclear deterrent is that it need not to be close to shore, thus making it much harder to find.  The Israeli subs simply are not in the same class as American or Russian boomers, which are true nuclear deterrent vessels, which also sport longer-range missiles.

Furthermore, with a stated range of 1500 km, those cruise missiles need not be launched from the confining waters of the Persian Gulf.  All of Iran is within reach of submarine launched missiles in the Gulf of Oman, or from land-based cruise missiles launched from israel.

I don't like it.  "Colonel O" sounds like a villain from a James Bond movie.  The Israelis are buying subs from the Germans...hmmmm!
:o

I don't like it.  "Colonel O" sounds like a villain from a James Bond movie.  The Israelis are buying subs from the Germans...hmmmm!
:o


But these are good Germans.  Scary

Both Iran and Pakistan are really testing the patience of the rest of the world, so it's not surprising to see this develop.

Look you guys, I don't care what kind of jive crazy bullsh*t you guys want to kill each other over, but don't deploy nuclear weapons!  Just don't do that.  Atomic warfare is the one we could totally wreck our whole planet with!  Then God will say, "You have wrecked what I have created once again.  You're going for walk.  This time not for 40 weeks, but 40 million years!
8)

Look you guys, I don't care what kind of jive crazy bullsh*t you guys want to kill each other over, but don't deploy nuclear weapons!  Just don't do that.  Atomic warfare is the one we could totally wreck our whole planet with!  Then God will say, "You have wrecked what I have created once again.  You're going for walk.  This time not for 40 weeks, but 40 million years!
8)



Sooner or later, one of these mofos is gonna light one off, they will not be able to resist.  And when that happens, everybody in that area will empty their nuclear clip.  The Middle East will be come the world's largest glass mine.

Sooner or later, one of these mofos is gonna light one off, they will not be able to resist.  And when that happens, everybody in that area will empty their nuclear clip.  The Middle East will be come the world's largest glass mine.


With 3/5 of the population of the region going as far Ethiopia and Romania and Estonia dying of horrible radiation sickness in subsequent weeks, with carcinogens causing death anywhere in the ensuing 30 years, AND mutagens powerful enough to affect the human genome 60 generations later, and that's if we're lucky!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/help.gif

With 3/5 of the population of the region going as far Ethiopia and Romania and Estonia dying of horrible radiation sickness in subsequent weeks, with carcinogens causing death anywhere in the ensuing 30 years, AND mutagens powerful enough to affect the human genome 60 generations later, and that's if we're lucky!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/help.gif


Let's just hope that prevailing winds keep the fallout away from Saudi Arabia.

Let's just hope that prevailing winds keep the fallout away from Saudi Arabia.


No we let them fry too.  Then we make the Saudi nuke refugees pump the oil at slave wages until we have a race of mutant humanoids pumping oil in Saudi Arabia and know nothing but pumping that oil.  No crossbreeding, please.
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/13/icon_sunny.gif