Viability of Iranian attack

It's late in Iran on a dark night, moonless or with heavy clouds. Suddenly the silence is broken by sonic booms, followed by the sound of jets roaring overhead.

Flying in tight formation, Israeli fighter planes drop bunker-busting bombs on a nuclear enrichment plant built into the side of a mountain.

Iranian pilots race for their own jets to fight back, but by the time they take to the sky, it's too late. The Israeli jets streak away.

That, at least, is what Israel would like to happen if it decides to attack Iran in an effort to prevent it from acquiring the ability to make nuclear weapons.

But would it be as easy for Israel to destroy Iran's nuclear sites as it was for the Jewish state to strike an Iraqi reactor in 1981 or a suspected one in Syria five years ago?

The Struggle for Jerusalem

Israel's missile shield aces first serious test

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Iron Dome rocket shield has aced its first serious test. Gaza's Hamas rulers have been careful to stay on the sidelines. And Islamic Jihad — now closer to Iran than is its larger rival Hamas — is taking the lead in this round against Israel.

These are some of the trends emerging from four days of fighting between Israel's air force and Gaza rocket squads, triggered by Israel's killing of a militant leader last week. Twenty-four Palestinians have been killed, including seven on Monday, and about 1 million Israelis in rocket range have seen their lives disrupted by the threat of rocket attacks, with frequent sirens warning them to run for cover.