Israel PM for a military strike against Iran: report

[PERSIAN GOD KING]

Jerusalem: Israel is mulling a possible military strike to foil Iran's nuclear ambitions with its hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau garnering support within his cabinet for the same, according to a media report.
Actively supported by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, the Israeli Premier is said to have recently succeeded in persuading ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, in support of the strike as they work towards mustering a cabinet majority on the strike, Ha'aretz daily reported citing a senior Israeli official as source.
According to the official, there is a "small advantage" in the cabinet for the opponents of such an attack.

Lieberman had been earlier being an opponent of such a measure.
Awaiting nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report to be released on November 8, political leaders in Israel have started arguing over the possibility of a war with Iran.
Leading ministers publicly dropping hints on Wednesday that Israel could attack the Islamic Republic, although a member of the forum of eight senior ministers said no such decision had been taken.
Senior ministers and diplomats said the IAEA report will have a decisive effect on the decision the Jewish state will take in this regard.
The whole debate was sparked by a column written by one of Israel's leading columnist, Nahum Barnea, for the largest circulated daily 'Yediot Ahronoth' under the headline "Atomic Pressure".
The columnist's concerned tone has brought back the issue to the forefront of the Israeli debate even though thousands of Israeli citizens have been looking for shelter to avoid rocket attacks emanating from Gaza during the past few days.
Western intelligence officials have been recently saying that Iran is forging ahead with its nuclear programme.
Intelligence services estimate that Tehran will take two or three years to get the bomb once it decides based on its current capability.
According to Western experts an attack on Iran during the winters this year is almost ruled out because the thick clouds would obstruct the Israel Air Force's performance.
Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility of the need for a military action against the Islamic Republic this week, warning of its increased power and influence during a Knesset (Israeli Parliament) address.
"One of those regional powers is Iran, which is continuing its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. A nuclear Iran would constitute a grave threat to the Middle East and the entire world, and of course it is a direct and grave threat on us," he said on Monday.
Barak said Israel should not be intimidated but did not rule out the possibility that Israel would launch a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"I object to intimidation and saying Israel could be destroyed by Iran," the Defence Minister said.
"We're not hiding our thoughts. However there are issues we don't discuss in public. We have to act in every way possible and no options should be taken off the table. I believe diplomatic pressure and sanctions must be brought to bear against Iran," he said.
Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon said he preferred an American military attack on Iran to an Israeli one. "A military move is the last resort," he said.

Israel PM for a military strike against Iran: report - World News - IBNLive

 

[Pioneerfirst]

Israel can never attack Iran without the support of USA.They may be responded with missile attacks which Israel cant sustain.They will like to adopt Libya like policy in Iran.

 

[Zabaniyah]

Only the US can do that.

 

[Cheetah786]

Dogs that Bark don't bite

 

[Hussein]

Again. It doesn't mean it will happen.
Someone near Lieberman said that USA tried to convince them not to do it. And that explains as well why USA (Clinton) wanted to speak to Iran (you know the topic many people make fun of it)

I'll never understand the stupid guys in the parliament who always insult people who want to speak with USA
speaking is a normal human process LOL speaking doesn't mean being slave
the problem is that some guys in Iran having so much benefits acting this stupid that they make our country in a bad situation

we have no nuclear weapon. ok then it is so easy to speak about it and convince.

 

[Respect4Respect01]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet support for a military strike on Iran.


It was reported by Haaretz newspaper Wednesday, after days of speculation on plans for such an attack. The report, citing a senior Israeli official, said Netanyahu was working with Defence Minister Ehud Barak to win support from skeptical members of the cabinet who oppose attacking Iranian nuclear facilities.



It came after days of renewed public discussion among Israeli commentators about the possibility that the Jewish state would take unilateral military action against Iran. Haaretz said that Netanyahu and Barak had already scored a significant win by convincing Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to throw his support behind a strike.



But the newspaper cited the senior Israeli official as saying there was still "a small advantage" in the cabinet for those opposed to an attack.



Among those still opposed, Haaretz said, are Interior Minister Eli Yishai of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor, Strategic Affairs Minister and Netanyahu confidant Moshe Yaalon, and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.



Media reports say any strike is also opposed by army chief Benny Gantz, the head of Israel s intelligence agency Tamir Pardo, the chief of military intelligence Aviv Kochavi and the head of Israel s domestic intelligence agency Yoram Cohen.
On Monday, Barak was forced to deny media reports that he and Netanyahu had already decided to launch an attack against Iran over the opposition of military and intelligence chiefs.



"It doesn t take a great genius to understand that in 2011 in Israel, two people cannot decide to act by themselves," he said.



"There are at the ministry of defence and the prime minister s office thousands of pages of minutes of the discussions that have been had in the presence of dozens of officials and ministers," he added.



On Tuesday, Barak appeared to suggest in remarks to parliament that Israel could be forced to act alone against Iran.
"A situation could be created in the Middle East in which Israel must defend its vital interests in an independent fashion, without necessarily having to reply on other forces, regional or otherwise," he said.



Haaretz said no decision had yet been taken on any military strike, and that a November 8 report from the International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear watchdog would have a "decisive effect" on the decision-making process.



The newspaper also cited Western experts as saying any attack on Iran during the winter would be almost impossible because of thick cloud cover, raising questions about when any military action might be launched.



Israel has consistently warned all options remain on the table when it comes to Iran s nuclear programme, which the Jewish state and much of the international community believe masks a drive for nuclear weapons. Iran denies those charges and says its nuclear programme is for civilian energy purposes only.



The renewed speculation about a potential attack on Iran, including public debate about the wisdom of any strike, was strongly criticised by several Israeli ministers, who called the discussion irresponsible.



Justice minister Dan Meridor, speaking to Israeli daily Maariv, called the public debate "nothing less than a scandal." "Not every issue is a matter for public debate," he warned. "The public elected a government to make decisions about things like this in secret. The public s right to know does not include the debate about classified matters like this."

 

[precious_maj]

It's irrelevant whether Iran has nuclear weapons, if Israel who has been in nearly as many wars as American in the last few decades has a nuclear programme then why should Iran not be allowed to. Iran has the right to defend itself.

 

[CorporateAffairs]

What wrong has Iran done

 

[PERSIAN GOD KING]

I should had put this thread in the joke section.

 

[PteX]

I doubt there will be war but Israeli Ballistic missiles have been test fired and there is a huge military drill today and tomorrow.

 

[PERSIAN GOD KING]

They did say this test has nothing to do with Iran.

 

[PteX]

They did say this test has nothing to do with Iran.

What did you expect them to say? Israeli ICBM`s can be mass produced and can even reach North America, which means entire Asia is within it`s range.

 

[Pakistanisage]

What did you expect them to say? Israeli ICBM`s can be mass produced and can even reach North America, which means entire Asia is within it`s range.

A nuclear attack on Iran by Israel might draw in Pakistan. Israel should well consider the consequences before crossing that line.

 

[Hafizzz]

Only the US can do that.

Iran is not Libya or Panama.......USA will get more than a bloody nose in return

 

[PteX]

A nuclear attack on Iran by Israel might draw in Pakistan. Israel should well consider the consequences before crossing that line.

Well, no to Pakistan drawing in because that would be declaring war on a country that is far from sight while a mammoth like India is right next to you. Pakistan has bigger worries than Israel.

No one said anything about nuking Iran because it would be unacceptable to actually nuke a country these days, with all the fallout it could cause to neighboring countries like Russia, India, Pakistan and China.

Israel`s goal is to terminate Iran`s nuclear program, they are the one`s attempting to get the nuke while Israel had it for over 30 years and has never used it.

When religious lunatics control a country that is hell bent on destroying Israel and trying to get nukes to do that is not acceptable, to say the least.