U.S. “not ready” for Israeli strike on Iran – Israel’s Barak
Washington, 13 August (IranVNC)—The U.S., at present, opposes an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said today in an interview.
By: IranVNC
Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2008
13:30GMT—9:30AM/EST
ISRAEL – US – IRAN – MILITARY
Washington, 13 August (IranVNC)—The U.S., at present, opposes an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said today in an interview.
“The Americans are not ready to allow us to attack Iran,” AFP quoted Barak as telling Israeli Army Radio. “Our position is that no option is to take off the table but in the meantime we have to make diplomatic progress.”
Both Israeli and US officials have called for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear row with Iran, but neither side has ruled out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The two countries suspect Iran is using the cover of a civilian nuclear program to develop nuclear weapons, and have called on Tehran to suspend its sensitive uranium enrichment work. Iran has refused to halt its enrichment work, saying its nuclear program is aimed at generating civilian nuclear energy.
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad today said that Western powers had retreated from their earlier stance on Iran’s nuclear program, saying: “Today, their [Western powers] is maintaining their position and because of this they insist that, even if for show, Iran suspend uranium enrichment for several months,” IRNA reported.
Israel’s daily Haaretz newspaper today reported that the U.S. has refused a request from Israel for military equipment to help prepare the country to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In an un-sourced report published on the newspaper’s front page, Haaretz wrote that Barak, along with Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert requested “certain specific items of military equipment, along with diplomatic and security backing”, in a private meeting with US President George W. Bush, who was visiting Jerusalem in May.
But Washington cautioned Israel against a strike on Iran, saying it would undermine US interests, and instead offered to supplement Israel’s defense capabilities, according to the report.
Barak declined to comment on the report in his interview, saying: “It would not be right to talk about these things.”
“The only thing to do is to continue to act in the field of intelligence and to strengthen economic sanctions against the government of [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad,” Barak told the radio.
The U.S., along with Britain, France and Germany, announced last week that they were considering imposing additional sanctions against Iran that would go beyond the next round of United Nations Security Council sanctions.
Iran has already faced three rounds of UN sanctions over its nuclear activities, and major powers are mulling a fourth.
But Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday dismissed the threats of further sanctions against Iran, saying they would eventually “benefit” the country.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Haaretz, ISNA in Persian
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