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Report: Israel Sought U.S. Go-Ahead to Bomb Iran Nuclear Sites

[Guardian-UK] Jonathan Steele - Israel gave serious thought this spring to launching a military strike on Iran's nuclear sites but was told by President Bush that he would not support it and did not expect to revise that view for the rest of his presidency, senior European diplomatic sources have told the Guardian. Bush's decision appeared to be based on two factors, the sources said. One was U.S. concern over Iran's likely retaliation, which would probably include a wave of attacks on U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as on shipping in the Persian Gulf. The other was U.S. anxiety that Israel would not succeed in disabling Iran's nuclear facilities in a single assault. It could not mount a series of attacks over several days without risking full-scale war. So the benefits would not outweigh the costs. Mark Regev, Olmert's spokesman, responded: "The need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is raised at every meeting between the prime minister and foreign leaders. Israel prefers a diplomatic solution to this issue but all options must remain on the table." "Your unnamed European source attributed words to the prime minister that were not spoken in any working meeting with foreign guests."
2008-09-26 01:00:00
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