Israel Attack Exercise Violates Greek Airspace

A Russian web site reports another sign of impending attack on Iran:

According to exclusive information of "Diplomatia", shock, awe, and panic gripped the Headquarters of the Greek Air Force on February 5, 2007, when radar detected a large formation of military aircraft flying inside the FIR of Athens, heading from Israel to Carpathos (a Greek island south-west of Rhodes, cm). Immediately two pairs of F-16s of the Greek Air Force scrambled from Crete to identify the invaders. They were a formation of military aircraft of Israel consisting of 7 Boeing 703 (refurbished Boeing 707) tankers, 1 Gulfstream electronic warfare aircraft, and 25 F-15 Strike Eagle and F-16 fighters, flying at altitudes of 22-44,000 feet. The Israeli formation turned and departed towards Israel 12 miles southeast of Carpathos, after having flown for 20 minutes inside the FIR of Athens. According to information received, this was a refueling exercise of the Israeli air force. The same sources report that flight plans had been filed with the Nicosia and Athens FIRs for the 7 Boeing 703 only, and not for the 25 fighters and the electronic warfare aircraft, resulting in a serious breach of international flight rules. As a result of this violation, panic gripped the National Center of Operations at the military headquarters.

Greece is a member of NATO. It was apparently not notified that 25 Israeli fighters would penetrate its airspace for 20 minutes. Its air defenses are a useful stand-in for Iran, as is its topography. Bloody hell. Not good.

(Note, I'm not absolutely certain of this material's veracity because I don't speak or read Greek, and time in Athens did not inspire me to do so. This story surfaced via American Samizdat, an otherwise reliable, keen, and quick information-hound.)