Occupied Jerusalem: Israel's lobbying to get better American weaponry than US-aligned Arab powers has been complicated by their shared hostility toward Iran, leaked diplomatic cables show.
WikiLeaks disclosures from July 2009 document Israeli and US defence delegates debating the merits of arming Saudi Arabia and other Arab states given doubts over whether Iran can be denied the means for developing nuclear weaponry.
Hearing the Israelis' objections to the planned sale of F-15 fighters and missiles to the Saudis, State Department official Andrew Shapiro argues for "a commonality of interests with the Gulf States, which also view Iran as the preeminent threat".
"We should take advantage of this commonality," he says.
Shapiro's line appears supported elsewhere in the WikiLeaks trove, which includes an account of Saudi Arabia urging the United States to attack Iran preemptively.
Yet Netanyahu is quoted as warning that should Iran get the bomb despite US-led efforts to curb its uranium enrichment, Arab powers could shift loyalties from Washington to Tehran.
This spells a quandary for the Israeli envoys who have long handled negotiations on both securing Israel's military edge and ensuring that the Arabs get less.
