Defence officials in Jerusalem fear that, within two years, Tehran will be producing missiles capable of hitting any site in Israel. They are deeply concerned by Iran's testing of a medium-range missile this week, confirmed by Washington yesterday.
To counter the threat, the Israeli defence establishment has begun lobbying for an increase of hundreds of millions of dollars in government military spending, and a leading politician is calling for an urgent reassessment of Israel's entire military doctrine.
Israel has been warning for years that Iran is making rapid progress in its missile programme, working in partnership with North Korea, and assisted by Russian experts. Although Iran has not publicly marked out Israel as a prime target, the Israelis assume it would be. The Islamic republic is strategically opposed to the presence of a Jewish state in the Middle East, and provides training, guidance and finance for Hamas Islamic militants in Gaza and the West Bank and for the Hizbullah movement in south Lebanon. Israeli officials are not yet certain whether the missile tested this week, which flew some 800 km, was supplied to Iran by North Korea, or, more worryingly, manufactured by the Iranians themselves. Officials predict that, within a year, Iran will have a prototype capable of flying 1,300 km - bringing Israel into range - and that within two years it will be producing workable missiles with this range.
Having been hit by more than three dozen Iraqi Scud missiles during the Gulf War in 1991, Israel has accelerated development of the Arrow missile defence system in partnership with the US, but it is not yet operational. And now, the Israeli defence establishment is pressing the government for more funding.
Mr Yitzhak Mordechai, the Defence Minister, described the Iranian test as "grave" and warned of the "developing threat" to Israel and the Middle East posed by the Iranian programme. To counter it, he said, he would need "more resources, a bigger budget, a greater deterrent capability."
He hinted at the possibility of pre-emptive Israeli action against Iran. The US and Europe had to do their utmost to stop Russian and other assistance to the Iranians, he said. But if, "heaven forbid, it becomes necessary", he went on, "we will do whatever is necessary to ensure Israel's security".
Mr Uzi Landau, who chairs the Knesset's powerful Defence Committee, yesterday called for a reassessment of Israeli military doctrine. Mr Landau is one of the hardliners in the government of Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, and strongly opposes any further Israeli withdrawal from occupied West Bank land.
Reuters adds from Moscow: The visiting US Vice President, Mr Al Gore, yesterday said Washington was worried about an Iranian rocket test but added Russia was doing more to prevent exports of missile technology to Tehran.
Mr Gore, on a brief visit to Russia where he met the Prime Minister, Mr Sergei Kiriyenko, was speaking after Washington confirmed Iran had test-launched a medium-range missile. "We're very concerned about Iran's tests," Mr Gore said in an interview. "We recently achieved an agreement with Russia that will see measures taken against some nine firms that have violated or are alleged to have violated the Russian export control policies."