Netanyahu asks U.S. for military threat on Iran
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Sunday that only a "credible" military threat can deter Iran from building a nuclear weapon, media reports said.
"The only way to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons is by creating a credible threat of military action against it if it does not halt its race to acquire a nuclear bomb," the reports quoted Netanyahu as telling Biden in New Orleans, where they are attending the general assembly of Jewish Federations of North America.
Netanyahu said sanctions have hurt Iran but are not stopping its efforts to pursue nuclear weapons.
According to Israeli estimates, the only time that Iran stopped its nuclear program was in 2003, when the Gulf country believed there was a threat of military action.
Israel sees a nuclearized Iran as a threat to its very existence and has refused to rule out the possibility of launching military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
For the United States, Israel's staunch ally, military option is not ruled out either. U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen said in early August that "Military actions have been on the table and remain on the table" for curbing Iran's nuclear ambition.
The highest-ranking U.S. military officer told the NBC TV network that "I hope we don't get to that, but it's an important option, and it's one that's well understood."
The Obama administration preferred sanctions and diplomacy at the moment in dealing with Iran's nuclear program, which Mullen described as a "dual-track" strategy.
Last round of talks over Iran's nuclear program broke down in Geneva in October last year, and in May this year, the UN Security Council slapped new sanctions on Tehran followed by unilateral actions by the United States and several other countries.
Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian use, while the west countries reject it as a guise for developing nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran announced Sunday that it is ready for holding fresh nuclear talks with the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany in Turkey.
In addition to Iran's nuclear program, Netanyahu's five-day visit to the United States focuses on his stalled direct negotiations with Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
They agreed to meet each other once every two weeks when they began direct talks in early September in Washington under the auspices of the Obama administration, but they have not seen each other since Sept. 15 after they finished a second round of talks.
Abbas insists on linking further talks with Israel's extended freeze on settlement building in the West Bank. He even threatened to take unilateral action of asking the UN to recognize a Palestinian state if Netanyahu continues his intransigence on the matter.
The Arab League on Oct. 8 gave Washington one month to revive the peace process.
Netanyahu told Biden that his country has made enough efforts to reach a peace settlement but has not received sufficient gestures in return. He added that the Palestinians must be stopped from taking unilateral action at the UN.
Netanyahu, who flies to New York on Monday and is scheduled to meet there with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is missing U.S. President Barack Obama who is on a four-nation Asian trip.
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