A HIGH-RANKING Russian official has suggested that Moscow, Tehran and Ankara could jointly develop nuclear energy "projects" in various countries.
According to government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, nuclear power would significantly reduce dependence on costly oil and gas imports.
"Now that Russia is completing the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power station in Iran, what are our chances of entering the nuclear energy market also in Turkey? Russian companies are now vying for the right to build nuclear power facilities there and our chances of winning the ongoing tender are pretty good. I hope we'll soon be getting good news from there," added Peskov.
 Russia has traditionally downplayed global concerns over Iran's nuclear aspirations by emphasising the programme's civilian nature. Indeed, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov recently told journalists that Tehran had shown "no signs" of utilising its nuclear capabilities for military purposes.
"The Russian Federation continues to believe that there are no signs of the (Iranian nuclear) programme being switched toward military goals, and that it is of an exclusively peaceful nature," claimed Ryabkov.
Meanwhile, Tehran confirmed that its Bushehr nuclear plant will begin operations by the end of 2009.
"Iran has chosen a direction for achieving peaceful nuclear energy. We have mainly reached this aim. (We) will finish and operate the Bushehr nuclear plant by the end of this year. Exactly 20 days from now we will have another celebration for celebrating the achievements we have gained for peaceful nuclear energy," said Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah.
As The News previously reported, Israel has repeatedly warned the international community it would not tolerate a nuclear-capable Iran led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. For example, incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opined that Iran posed the "greatest danger" to Israel and pledged to thwart its nuclear aspirations.
When asked if halting the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme implied a military strike, Netanyahu replied: "it includes everything that is necessary to make this statement come true."
Similar sentiments were expressed by Israel Air Force (IAF) commander Maj Gen Ido Nehushtan, who told Der Spiegel the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) was prepared to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"If I understand it correctly, all options are on the table. The Air Force is a very robust and flexible force. We are ready to do whatever is demanded of us," said Nehushtan.
Iran, however, has continued to dismiss Israel's warnings as crude "psychological" warfare.
"The global and regional situation and especially the confusion inside the Zionist regime (of Israel) itself do not give military strikes any serious ground. This is just a form of psychological war," insisted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hassan Qashqavi Qashqavi.
Nevertheless, a senior associate at the US-based Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) has assessed that Israel may target Iranian nuclear sites with Jericho ballistic missiles.
"We have seen how an air to ground strike mission can be difficult to implement and would involve some risks. The attrition rates of the Israeli air strike will be high, could go up to 20 to 30 per cent," said Abdullah Toukan. "For a strike mission of some 90 aircraft, the attrition could then be between 20 to 30 aircraft. A loss Israel would hardly accept in paying. All of this can somewhat be avoided if ballistic missiles are used to carry out the mission."
According to Toukan, the most recent version of the Jericho appears to be a two-stage, solid-fuel propellant projectile capable of achieving a 900 mile (1,500 kilometers) range with a 2,200 pound payload.
"There are reports that Israel is developing a Jericho III missile, based on a booster it developed with South Africa in the 1980s. Jane's estimated that the missile has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers and a 1,000-kilogram warhead. This estimate is based largely on a declassified Defense Intelligence Agency (analysis) of the launch capability of the Shavit booster," concluded Toukan.
 However, Nathan Hughes, an analyst at a Texas-based global intelligence company known as Stratfor, told The News that Israel would be "extremely hesitant" to employ the longest-range element of its nuclear triad against Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Israel would be extremely hesitant to employ the longest-range element of its nuclear triad in a strike for which it would want to retain the maximum flexibility in its retaliatory capability - and the longer-range Jerichos would be the tool of choice for holding Tehran at risk. Given that the strike could not be carried out solely with Jerichos and aircraft would be required anyway, the benefits of supplementing those airstrikes with Jerichos would be limited - especially since the effectiveness of their accuracy (though unknown) combined with the conventional warhead on potential targets is questionable," assessed Hughes.
Jeffrey White, a defence fellow at the Washington Institute who specialises in the military and security affairs of Iraq and the Levant, concurred.
"These are for deterrence and strategic nuclear strike. I doubt if they would be used for this kind of mission. They would not be very effective with conventional warheads," explained White.
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