Israel gives mixed signals on any attack on Iran
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Israel issued contradictory signals on Wednesday on whether it might bomb Iran, with its foreign minister saying there were no such plans and the defense minister saying all options were on the table.
Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has repeatedly described Iran's uranium enrichment as a threat to its existence.
"I have been asked by Saudi journalists about when Israel plans to bomb Iran. We are not planning to bomb Iran," far-right Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said during a visit to Russia.
"We do not have a need" to carry out attacks on Iran, Lieberman told reporters in Russian when asked about a possible strike against Iran. "Israel is a strong country and we can defend ourselves."
Israel has in the past said all options were on the table in preventing Tehran from building atomic weapons, and this was repeated later by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who refused to rule out a military strike on Iran.
"I repeat what I have always said, we are not taking any options off the table," Barak said to reporters in Washington after meetings with officials from U.S. President Barack Obama's administration.
ISRAELI PLANS
Many analysts have speculated that Israel, which has carried out long-range air exercises and is developing a missile interceptor system underwritten by the United States, could launch an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Obama said last month after talks at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington wanted to see serious progress by the end of the year in his diplomatic outreach to Iran.
Netanyahu said after the meeting it was clear to Obama "that Israel reserves the right to defend itself." But Netanyahu said he hoped Obama's diplomatic efforts would be successful, a signal he had acceded for now to the U.S. strategy of dialogue.
Iran rejects Western accusations its nuclear program is aimed at making bombs. Tehran has vowed to retaliate for any attack with missile strikes against Israel and U.S. Gulf assets.
Lieberman, who grew up in the Soviet Union, said if Iran gained nuclear bombs it would trigger an arms race in the Middle East region.
"This is not an Israeli problem," he said. "This is a threat to the entire world order and entire world community. So we do not want this global problem to be solved (only) by our hands."
(Editing by Charles Dick)
