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Israel’s Newest Nuclear Submarine Presented to Senior IDF Officials

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Procurement of German Subs Helps Israel Maintain Strategic Advantage

Israel received its fourth German-made Dolphin class submarine capable of launching nuclear warheads last week.  The submarine was presented to Israeli defense officials at an inauguration ceremony in Kiel, Germany, on Thursday and is expected to arrive in Israel in 2013.
The Dolphin submarine is one of six Israel has ordered from Germany, which subsidizes the submarines. Each submarine costs roughly half a billion dollars, while the first two were given to Israel for free.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the submarine would increase Israel’s capabilities and strength “in the face of the growing regional challenges.” 
Maj. Gen. Ram Rothberg, Navy commander, said at the launching: “We are Launching the Tanin (Hebrew for “Crocodile”), Israel’s fourth submarine, today. This ability is a very critical one for the state of Israel. “
For years Israel has been investing in building its maritime power like the United States and Russia, by possessing advanced submarines.  Expected conflicts or those unfolding that are not necessarily occurring at Israel’s borders, give Israel the urge to maintain its military edge in the region by expanding its naval capabilities, and the capacity to launch an immediate response to any overseas attack, by creating a second-strike deterrent capability.
While Israel has never admitted to possessing a nuclear weapons arsenal, the Jewish state has allegedly deployed one of its Dolphin class submarines carrying nuclear cruise missiles to the Persian Gulf. In May 2010, the Sunday Times reported that the government has decided to station at least one of three submarines armed with nuclear missiles permanently within striking distance of Iran in the Persian Gulf.
A senior commander in the Iranian navy denied reports about the presence of three Israeli nuclear subs in the Persian Gulf, telling Iran’s government-run news agency, that this was part of the psychological warfare against his country. He stated that the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guard were monitoring the situation in the Gulf, and that any threat to Iranian security would trigger a forceful reaction involving Iran’s “unimaginable weapons.”
Nonetheless, the report by itself and the Iranian response is, in the eyes of some analysts, just another indication of Israeli dominance. Taking the necessary steps in reserving the right of a defensive and offensive response to Iran’s intensions of developing nuclear weapons, and its readiness to respond to any attempt by the Iranians to destabilize the Middle East or threaten the State of Israel’s security.
In a Ynet News op-ed, columnist Dr. Guy Bechor points out that “Sun Tzu, who wrote The Art of War, already taught us how to produce deterrence: If the enemy estimates that it will suffer grave damage should it attack you, it will curb itself. And this is the significance of the submarines: Iran could theoretically strike Israel with missiles, yet it knows, according to foreign reports, that Tehran may pay an existential price. Even if Israel’s offensive and defensive capabilities are destroyed, the blow against Iran shall arrive from the sea – and it will most certainly arrive.”
During a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in New Orleans last November, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed for a credible military option to be placed on the table, in addition to diplomatic efforts in order to persuade Iran to immediately halt further enrichment of uranium. According to diplomatic sources quoted by the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu warned Biden that Iran is “attempting to mislead the West, and there are worrying signs that the international community is captivated by this mirage.” 
“The only time that Iran stopped its nuclear program was in 2003, and that was when they believed that there was a real chance of an American military strike against them,” he reportedly told Biden.
The talk of war or the United States diplomatic efforts might push off or delay any decision by the Iranian regime to move forward, enriching uranium up to 20 percent. But the real deterrence, that will force the Iranians to ultimately drop their intensions of developing nuclear capability, may be incumbent upon Israel. And in such a scenario, the presence of torpedo and strategic weapons carriers in the Persian gulf, signifies Israeli military might, and Israel’s commitment to use any means at its disposal to defuse the Iranian threat. 

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