US tells Israel military option still on table with Iran
Following defense minister's visit to US, Los Angeles Times reports Washington has made clear to Israel it still considers military action viable last-resort option against Iran; Obama tells Democratic Party that if sanctions don't work, Israel may strike
WASHINGTON – The United States has told Israel a military strike on Iran was still on the table, the Lost Angeles Times quoted Pentagon sources as saying on Wednesday following Defense Minister Ehud
Barak's visit to the capital.
The paper asserts that officials within the Bush administration reassured Barak that the US would not rule out the possibility of military action as a last-resort option. In Jerusalem many are concerned Washington has taken a more lenient approach in its stance against Tehran.
In Barak's meetings with Washington's top brass these past two days, administration officials made clear that while the US was adamantly seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis, the military option has not been written off.
"Is there a difference of emphasis? It certainly looks as though there is," the paper quotes an unnamed senior US defense official as saying.
In a brief interview, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell emphasizes that American officials have repeatedly said Washington favors efforts to apply economic pressure against Tehran.
"The military option, although always available, is not our preferred route," Morrell told the paper. "We have made that point clear to them and the world in our public statements and private meetings."
Obama: Israel may strike
ABC News reported Wednesday that White House hopeful Barack Obama told fellow Democratic lawmakers that Israel will launch a military strike on Iran if nuclear sanctions fail.
The comment was reportedly made in a meeting late Tuesday between Sen. Obama and Democratic members of the House of Representatives, following the presidential contender's return from an overseas tour that included Israel.
"Nobody said this to me directly but I get the feeling from my talks that if the sanctions don't work, Israel is going to strike Iran," an attendee at the meeting quoted Obama as saying, according to ABC.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday his country wouldn't retreat in the face of demands by world powers for Tehran to stop the enrichment.
Obama also told Tuesday's meeting that Arab states understood a nuclear Iran would be a "game changer" for the entire region because of likely Israeli action, another attendee cited by ABC said.
