Israel is to test an installation designed to monitor any future nuclear trial by Iran, according to press reports. An Israeli newspaper says explosions will be deliberately set off today in the Negev desert to see how they register at the underground facility. The test is reportedly being carried out on behalf of the UN. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has emerged as Israel’s arch-enemy after calling for it to be wiped off the map.

Today he told a rally that a UN resolution imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic because of its nuclear programme was illegal and politically- motivated. Dismissing claims it is trying to make atomic weapons, Iran insists it wants to produce fuel for nuclear power plants. The head of the secret service in Israel, broadly considered to be the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, has reportedly said Iran will have its first atomic bomb within four years if its efforts continue at their current pace.

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