Article Posted on : - May 11, 2010

JERUSALEM (PTI): Contending that attack is the best form of defence, Israel has said it has the capability to carry out a military strike against Iran, which had given a call for its "wiping out off the map."

"There is no doubt that the technological capabilities, which improved in recent years, have improved range and aerial refueling capabilities, and have brought about a massive improvement in the accuracy of ordnance and intelligence," Vice Premier Moshe Ya'alon told a conference of military officers and experts.

"This capability can be used for a war on terror in Gaza, for a war in the face of rockets from Lebanon, for war on the conventional Syrian army, and also for war on a peripheral state like Iran," said Yaalon, a former armed forces chief.

Emphasising on the need to strengthen air capability, Ya'alon was of the opinion that it is of utmost importance to "decapitate or blind" an enemy by targeting its leadership or early warning defences.

"As far as I'm concerned, attack remains the best form of defence," he said.

Israel has declared Iran's ongoing nuclear programme an "existential threat" and has also accused it of arming hostile factions, Hizbullah in southern Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza.

"There is no doubt, looking at the overall situation, that we are already in a military confrontation with Iran," Ya'alon said adding, "Iran is the main motivator of those attacking us."

While Israel has maintained that it will pursue the diplomatic option against Iran and has launched a major campaign to muster support worldwide to impose sanctions against it to convince its leadership to give up on its nuclear ambition, Israeli leadership from time to time have also emphasised that they will keep all options on the table.

Israel had earlier bombed Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981 and also eliminated a Syrian nuclear reactor in the making in 2007.