تصمیم واشنگتن درباره گزینه نظامی علیه ایران جدی است، منابعی از وزارت
دفاع آمریکا که نخواستند نامشان فاش شود روز پنجشنبه ۱ مارس اعلام داشتند
که گزینه نظامی در حال اجراست ، فراهم کردن سوخت برای هواپیماهای اسرائیلی
را در اولین برنامه ی پیش روی آنهاست
In a dramatic U-turn to show Israel that Washington is serious about its
military option against Iran’s nuclear program, Pentagon officials
disclosed Thursday, March 1, that “military options being prepared start
with providing refueling for Israeli planes and include attacking the
pillars of the clerical regime. They include the Islamic Revolutionary
Guards Corps and its elite Qods Force, regular Iranian military bases
and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.” The officials spoke on
condition of anonymity in Washington’s first public reference to
possible joint military action with Israel against Iran.
debkafile reported earlier Thursday on the deep discord marking the US-Israeli approach to the threat of a nuclear Iran:
Barring last-minute changes, US President Barack Obama and Israeli
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will still be at profound cross
purposes on Iran when they meet at the White House on March 5. Israel’s
Defense Minister Ehud Barak flew to Washington to try and work out with
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Wednesday, Feb. 29 a formula for
bridging the widening gap. debkafile’s Washington sources report that
notwithstanding their smiling embraces, Barak flew straight back home to
inform the prime minister they had failed.
While still airborne, Barak heard White House Spokesman Jay Carney
further sharpen Obama’s current tone: “I think we have been clear about
this – that any (Israeli) military action in that region threatens
greater instability in the region, because Iran borders both Afghanistan
and Iraq – we have civilian personnel in Iraq, we have military
personnel as well as civilians in Afghanistan.”
Carney added “But our approach right now is to continue to pursue the
diplomatic path that we’ve taken, combined with very aggressive
sanctions.”
Senior American and Israeli officials said on Thursday, March 1 that
this statement confirmed that the president had turned down two key
Israeli requests:
1. To set final and absolute red lines for Iran’s nuclear program
which, if crossed, would provide the grounds for the US and Israel to
strike its nuclear sites. Israel maintains that Washington’s Iran policy
can be summed up as “shifting red lines:” Whenever Iran moves ahead
with another nuclear achievement, the US sets new “red lines” to avoid a
confrontation. This enables Tehran to jump its nuclear program forward
from one US “red line” to the next.
2. To stop reciting the mantra that “all options are on the table’ for
stopping Iran gaining a nuclear weapon and moving on to more definite
language for specifying American military contingencies. However, the
attempt to formulate a new locution evaded the efforts of Panetta and
Barak.
President Shimon Peres is due to meet President Obama Sunday, March 4
although the hour has not yet been set. Whether it takes place before or
after the US President’s speech to the AIPAC (The American Israel
Public Affairs Committee) National Convention opening that day in
Washington is significant.
If it takes place after, it would mean that the Americans are no longer
amenable to Israeli persuasion to give up their objections to an Israeli
attack and they expect Jerusalem to respect the Obama administration’s
demand to give sanctions and diplomatic pressure more time to persuade
Iran’s leaders to pack up their nuclear weapon program.
Obama is waiting anxiously to see if the Iranians turn up for nuclear
talks with the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany
in Istanbul next month. To meet one of their conditions for coming to
the table, the US stalled on leading the West and Arab powers into
military intervention to overthrow Syria’s Bashar Assad.
But even if Peres gets to see Obama before the AIPAC speech, there is
not much he can do to persuade the US president to accept a compromise
formula that would save his talks with Netanyahu from digging the rift
between them on Iran still deeper.
Thursday, March 1, senior American sources listed the US-Israeli schedule for the coming days:
Thursday: Former US presidential adviser Dennis B.
Ross holds a background briefing on US policy for Iran with American
journalists. Although he holds no official White House position, Ross is
considered sufficiently influential and well-informed to outline the
next stages of the presidential Iran strategy.
Sunday, March 4: President Obama and Prime Minister
Netanyahu both address the opening of the national AIPAC Convention in
Washington. The extremely sensitive order of appearance has not yet been
settled.
Jerusalem would rather Obama go first to give Netanyahu the chance to
answer his comments. For that very reason, the Americans would prefer
their president to follow the prime minister and so, in a manner of
speaking, carve his policy in stone.
The White House is making every effort to make sure no public
confrontation over Iran takes place between the American and Israeli
leaders in their widely broadcast and televised appearances before an
audience of some 14,000 Jewish delegates from across America.
