Israel seeks US bunker bombs eyeing Iran nukes

By: Ahmed Hammadi

HELD JERUSALEM: Israeli security sources said on Tuesday the United States has planned to sell Israel $319 million worth of air-launched bombs, including 500 'bunker busters' able to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear facilities,.

The planned procurement sought “to maintain Israel's qualitative advantage and advance US strategic and tactical interests,” the Israeli Haaretz newspaper quoted a Pentagon report as saying.

Paper said this is one of the Jewish state's largest weapons deals in recent years. The purchase also includes airborne models, guidance units, training bombs and detonators for Israel's air force.

The US embassy in Israel had no comment, referring queries to Washington. Israel's Defense Ministry also declined comment.

But a senior Israeli security source who confirmed the Haaretz story told Reuters, “This is not the sort of ordnance needed for the Palestinian front. Bunker busters could serve Israel against Iran, or possibly Syria.”

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said during a military parade in Tehran on Tuesday to commemorate the start of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war that his country is determined to press ahead with its nuclear program even if it results in a halt of UN checks of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites.

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