26 April, 2006
The Israel military has launched a new satellite that will improve its ability to monitor Iran. The Eros-B satellite was launched on Tuesday from a Russian missile base in Siberia, and it is expected to be in working orbit by the weekend. The device is designed to give the Israeli military an extra eye on the Middle East, especially on Iran, whose president has threatened "to wipe Israel off the map". The Eros-B offers an all-weather camera with enhanced resolution that can pick up items on the ground as small as two feet in diameter, JTA reports. Israeli efforts to monitor Iran suffered a setback last year when a rocket taking the Ofek-6 spy satellite into orbit crashed on take-off.
Read about the WJC's compaign for international condemnation of President Ahmadinejad
