Iran simulated an attack against Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor during extensive military drills this week, that included launching multiple ballistic missiles.
Fars news agency, an affiliate of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, published a video on Sunday that shows a mock-up of the Israeli nuclear site as the target of the simulated operation.
The Dimona reactor, officially known as the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, was marked as “WMD production center” in the high-resolution video.
Sixteen ballistic missiles and five suicide drones were launched against the mock target in the operation.
Rhetpric has intensified between Iran and Israel in recent weeks as nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers have stalled in Vienna. Israel has vowed that if Iran's nuclear program reaches a statge close to production of weapons, it will act regardless of an agreement the United States and other world powers reach with Tehran.
An article published by the Jerusalem Post on Sunday says such threats matter more than ever now, calling them “a dangerous escalation in rhetoric. It is also tied to Iran revealing aspects ofits drone program and new technology.”
Back in January 2012, Israeli media reported that the country’s Atomic Energy Commission had decided to temporarily shut down the reactor, citing vulnerability to attack from Iran as the main reason for the decision.
The main targets of Iran's long-range ballistic missiles are Israel, possibly US bases in the Middle East and vital oil installations. Israel has one of the world's most concentrated missile defense systems, known as the Iron Dome. US bases are also defended by Patriot and other missile defense systems.
The IRGC chief commander Major General Hossein Salami said on the last day of wargames on Friday that the drills carried a stark warning to “threats made by the Zionist regime’s officials that they need to be careful not making mistakes, and if they do, we will cut off their hands”.He said the only difference between the military exercise and a real attack to Israel is a change in the angle and trajectory of the missiles.