Iran is likely to use talks planned with world powers next week to buy more time for advancing its disputed nuclear program and it is \”very good at playing this kind of chess game,\” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday.
The RAND Corporation, a think tank which advises the Pentagon, warned on Tuesday against an Israeli or American attack on Iran\’s nuclear reactors, and recommended the Obama administration try to \”quietly influence the internal Israeli discussion over the use of military force.\”
Israel still has time to strike Iran and the right to decide for itself whether to do so, Vice President Joe Biden said.
Leon Panetta, the U.S. defense secretary, said he hoped Israel\’s top soldier was \”correct\” in assessing that the Iranian regime was rational.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said on Thursday that other countries have readied their armed forces for a potential strike against Iran\’s nuclear sites to keep Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons.
More than 2.5 million people have viewed two installments of a video advocating Israel\’s legal and moral authority to attack Iran.
A unilateral strike by Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities is not the best course of action, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.
The United States would not be safe from retaliation if Iran is attacked by Washington, the Iran newspaper quoted a senior Revolutionary Guards commander on Tuesday as saying.
Israel Defense Forces officials told cabinet ministers on Monday that should Israel undergo a coordinated missile attack, there would be less than 300 Israeli casualties.
Pre-emptive military strikes aimed at forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear activities may end up having the opposite effect: convincing the Islamic Republic\’s leaders they need an atomic arsenal to secure their hold on power.
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