Israel Matzav

Panetta says Israel won't attack

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Tuesday that he does not believe that Israel will really attack Iran. And because of cold water being poured on the prospect of an Israeli attack by Panetta and by several retired Israeli army officers, Iran doesn't believe that Israel will attack it either. And therefore, they are continuing full speed ahead with the development of a nuclear weapon.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday that he did not believe that Israel had made a decision on whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program, and added that he thought there was still time for a stronger sanctions push.

Panetta’s comments came at a Pentagon briefing against the background of the very loud and public debate in Israel about whether to attack Iran.

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The conclusions the Iranians have drawn from the debates, at least judging from remarks made Tuesday by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, is that no attack is imminent.

“Even if some officials in the illegitimate regime [Israel] want to carry out such a stupid action, there are those inside [the Israeli government] who won’t allow it because they know they would suffer very severe consequences from such an act,” he was quoted by the AFP as telling reporters at a weekly briefing on Tuesday.

“In our calculations, we aren’t taking these claims very seriously because we see them as hollow and baseless,” he said.

He also reportedly said that Israel is only talking about an attack because of domestic problems, such as the economic protests. Israel Radio reported that Iranian leaders are convinced that Israel will not act without US backing, and that as long as Washington is indicating that they do not currently support such a move, there is no reason for undue concern.

Netanyahu, in a statement he made alongside Panetta earlier this month, foresaw this attitude, and said that despite forceful statements by the US and Israel, Iran is not convinced “that we are serious about stopping them.”

“Right now, the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program. This must change and it must change quickly, because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out,” Netanyahu continued.

I guess none of these morons plays poker.

Read the whole thing.

Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, Iranian nuclear threat, Israeli attack on Iran, Leon Panetta

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:48 AM