Israel Will Stop at Nothing to Keep Nuclear Weapons from Iran

In a toughening of its already-hawkish stance, Israel announced yesterday that it would do anything necessary to keep Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. The U.S., attempting to act as an intermediary between the two Middle East powers, couldn’t have been happy about the pronouncement, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates did attempt to reassure Israel that the U.S. would push for greater sanctions against Iran if they aren’t willing to bargain.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, meanwhile, noted of his country, "We clearly believe that no option should be removed from the table. This is our policy. We mean it. We recommend to others to take the same position, but we cannot dictate to anyone." Though the Obama administration enjoys a relatively close working relationship with Israeli leaders, this particular point continues to be a thorn in the side of Obama, the would-be peacemaker. The question of how to deal with Iran’s advancing nuclear capabilities is a vexing one, to say the least, though Iran continues to claim that it wishes to advance its nuclear program only for purposes of domestic power generation.

Gates was blunt when asked what the U.S. would do in the face of Iran’s refusal to deal with Israel, noting, "If the engagement process is not successful, the United States is prepared to press for significant additional sanctions. We would try to get international support for a much tougher position. Our hope remains that Iran would respond to the president’s outstretched hand in a positive and constructive way, but we’ll see."