Yes they can

This Washington Times story by Rowan Scarborough confirms what I wrote here and here — Israel is capable of air strikes against Iran that would inflict limited damage on Iranian nuclear sites. According to retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney, a former fighter pilot who has trained with Israeli pilots:

They have the capability to strike Iran. It would be limited, though. They could do 30 to 40 ‘aim points’ in the array. I’m not worried about them hitting the targets. They will suffer losses, but they are capable of doing it.”

The Israeli airmen, described by McInerney as the best in the world, would fly over Jordan and Iraq, just as they did when they bombed an Iraqi nuclear facililty in 1981. Once in Iranian air space, they would confront an air defense system that McInerney describes as “1960s vintage” and not as good as the Iraqi defenses that Israeli pilots avoided in 1981.

However, I don’t think we’ll see Israel employ this option now.

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