Report: Saudi Missile Sites Target Iran, Israel
The discovery is a sign that Saudi Arabia has prepared for the possibility that Iran will become a nuclear power, and it's a reminder that a decades-long truce between Saudi Arabia and Israel is just that, and not a peace treaty, one analyst says.
Oren Dorell, @OrenDorell, USA TODAY
Saudi Arabia has built missile launch pads that target both Iran and Israel with ballistic missiles, according to imagery and analysis by IHS Jane's, the British security consultancy.
While IHS Jane's analysts did not see actual missiles, the sites include command and control facilities and underground bunkers that likely conceal missiles and launchers nearby, said Allison Puccioni, a senior image analyst at IHS Jane's.
The discovery is a sign that Saudi Arabia has prepared for the possibility that Iran will become a nuclear power, and it's a reminder that a decades-long truce between Saudi Arabia and Israel is just that, and not a peace treaty, says Michael Rubin, an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute who briefs members of the U.S. military on Iran.
The Saudis' "predominant fear is that Iran will become a nuclear power," Rubin said. "They're showing they're serious."
Puccioni said one site, at Al Watah, is about 5 years old and others were apparently build in the mid-2000s. They resemble missile launch sites in China built for the Dongfeng-3 (DF-3), a medium-range missile that can launch a 4,700-pound payload with a range of 1,600 miles. The DF-3 launches from trucks known as transporter erector launchers (TELs).
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/14/saudi-missile-sites-target-iran-israel/2510157/
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