Despite Israel’s efforts to convince Washington of the necessity of military strike against Iran, the White House has in several occasions announced that there remains “time and space for diplomacy,” concerning Tehran’s nuclear program.
According to the Washington Post editorial published on September 8, 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked US President Barack Obama to release a public statement expressing willingness to take military action if Iran crosses certain “red lines” in its nuclear program.
Obama, however, has told Netanyahu that his policy is to prevent Iran from obtaining a "weapon" and that “all options are on the table.”
The US-Israel clash over Iran was confirmed when US congressman and the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Mike Rogers verified reports that the Israeli prime minister and the US envoy to Tel Aviv Dan Shapiro engaged in a row over Iran’s nuclear energy program during a meeting in August.
Although Shapiro and the White House immediately denied the reports after the meeting, Israeli Minister of Military Affairs Ehud Barak repeated on Thursday that “the clock is ticking at a different pace” for the United States and for Israel in judging the Iranian threat.
Israel has recently carried out a number of war games and drills as Tel Aviv steps up its war rhetoric against Iran under the pretext that Iran’s nuclear energy program includes a military component.
Iran has refuted the allegations maintaining that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has every right to develop and acquire the nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Iranian officials have also promised a crushing response to any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
