US sources: Israel ministers who oppose Iran strike are now for it
American sources told Fox television early Sunday, Nov. 6 that all the senior Israeli ministers who were formerly against attacking Iran's nuclear sites are now for it, having been updated on Iran's clandestine progress toward building a nuclear weapon.
This information is due to be borne out when the IAEA publishes its next Iran report Tuesday, Nov. 8. The ministers are said to have changed their minds in the belief that the next round of sanctions will not be tough enough and point to the precedent of Israel's 1981 attack on Iraq's nuclear reactor which was never rebuilt.
According to DEBKAfile's Washington sources, the Obama administration attributes the change of heart by those ministers to a conviction that Iran already has a nuclear weapon.
And so after ten days after feverish, unattributed Israeli news reporting on an imminent attack, the administration has drawn certain lines: Israel should go forward with its plans to strike Iran, while Washington will stress "diplomatic strategy."
All in all, public US administration responses to the prospect of Israel taking military action on Iran in own its hands have been unusually mild.
However, while voicing concern and reporting stepped up "watchfulness" of both Iran and Israel, the official's tone was not critical of Israel, despite the fact that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had been understood to have assured the US president when they met in the past year that Israel would not attack Iran without prior warning to Washington.
A second US military official stressed that Iran is the largest threat to the United States in the Middle East.
On the issue of Israeli action against Iran, the tone from US official sources has undergone a marked change.
The former routine putdowns from Washington sources asserting a) that Israel was not up to a lone military operation and that anyway b) it would only have the limited effect of putting the Iranian weapons program back four years, are no longer heard - especially since the US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited Israel last month.
Does this mean that an attack is imminent?
Who knows. As mentioned before, this could represent brinkmanship, in efforts to prompt the EU and the US to impose meaningful sanctions, or Israel could be forewarning the world of its rationale for 'attack', in advance for the purpose of gaining public acceptance for an inevitable war that is approaching.
Either way, this is worth watching very very closely in the coming days and weeks.
3 comments:
I'm still on the lookout for the Psalm 83 Israel/Arab battle to come first,which will NOT include Iran(Persia). That battle WILL include Israel's war with Egypt, Hezbollah and the Lebanese,the Palestinians and northern Jordanians as well as Syria.
ANON
I agree with that; its how I see things playing out as well.
For what it's worth; I am of the same opinion. I suspect Iran is a red herring at the moment, it's taking the attention away from the Syrian issue, and an imminent big bang imo.
Every morning of late, I have been expecting to wake up to the news about the destruction of Damascus. No evidence mind you, just a feeling. It makes my blood run cold when I think of the loss of young lives - I do hope I am gone before then, one way or the other.
:(
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