Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Pictures
Editor's choice
Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Slideshow
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Special ops group attacks Obama over bin Laden bragging, leaks
14 Aug 2012
China demands Japan release activists over island protest
|
11:52am EDT
Possible war with Iran could be month-long affair: Israel minister
9:15am EDT
Australian court deals blow to global tobacco giants
|
8:35am EDT
Who needs a license? Self-driving cars coming our way
9:00am EDT
Discussed
138
Obama’s lead over Romney grows despite voters’ pessimism
122
Romney to announce vice presidential choice Saturday
94
Analysis: Are Israelis tough enough for a long war with Iran?
Sponsored Links
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Strange pets
Some pet owners love their dogs and cats. These pet owners, love their pigs, tigers and snakes. A look at owners with unusual pets. Slideshow
Photo focus: Silhouette
Dramatic images are often produced by capturing the subject matter in silhouette. Slideshow
Possible war with Iran could be month-long affair: Israel minister
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Netanyahu picks new security minister as Iran strike debated
Tue, Aug 14 2012
All threats "dwarfed" by Iran nuclear work: Israel PM
Sun, Aug 12 2012
Iran steps up nuclear warhead work, Israel media report
Sun, Aug 12 2012
Egypt media say six Sinai "terrorists" held after attack
Fri, Aug 10 2012
Little sign of battle in Egypt's Sinai region
Thu, Aug 9 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Risk spills over in Middle East
Egypt should realize Israel is not the enemy
Related Topics
World »
Aerospace & Defense »
Israel »
Matan Vilnai sits aboard a helicopter on his way to the Golan Heights during a tour of fortifications near the Israeli-Lebanese border October 20, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Baz Ratner
JERUSALEM |
Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:15am EDT
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - War with Iran would probably turn into a month-long conflict on various fronts with missile strikes on Israeli cities and some 500 dead, Israel's civil defense minister said in an interview published on Wednesday.
"There is no room for hysteria. Israel's home front is prepared as never before," Matan Vilnai, a former general who is about to leave his cabinet post to become ambassador to China, told the Maariv daily.
The interview coincided with Israeli media reports over the past week suggesting that Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities before the U.S. presidential election in November.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday that Washington does not believe Israel has made a decision on whether to strike.
"I don't want to be dragged into the debate," Vilnai said, when asked if Israel should go to war against Iran. "But the United States is our greatest friend and we will always have to coordinate such moves with it."
Echoing an assessment already voiced by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Vilnai was quoted as saying hundreds of missiles could hit Israeli cities daily and kill some 500 people in a war with Iran, which has promised strong retaliation if attacked.
"There might be fewer dead, or more, perhaps ... but this is the scenario for which we are preparing, in accordance with the best expert advice," Vilnai said.
"The assessments are for a war that will last 30 days on several fronts," he said, alluding to the possibility Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and Palestinian militants in Gaza would also launch rockets at Israel.
Israel has built a sophisticated missile shield likely to stop some of the salvoes and regularly holds civil defence drills to prepare for rocket strikes.
Vilnai made no mention in the interview of the impact a month of conflict would have on Israel's economy should Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial center, be hit by long-range missiles.
Tel Aviv was not struck by missiles during Israel's three-week war in the Gaza Strip in late 2008 and early 2009 and in a 34-day conflict with Hezbollah in 2006. But it came under Scud rocket fire from Iraq during the 1991 Gulf war.
War jitters with Iran, which denies accusations that it is striving to develop nuclear weapons, caused steep declines in Israeli financial markets on Monday although some of those losses were recovered on Tuesday.
"Just as the citizens of Japan have to understand they are likely to be hit by an earthquake, Israelis must realize that anyone who lives here has to be prepared for missiles striking the home front," Vilnai said.
Vilnai is set to leave office by the end of August. Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he will be replaced by Avraham Dichter, a previous head of the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; editing by Crispian Balmer)
World
Aerospace & Defense
Israel
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.