Region | Palestinian Territories

Israeli defence minister says US does not support attack on Iran

The United States does not presently support an attack on Iran, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 13:01 August 13, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Barak said Iran was a "threat to the whole world order."
  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Occupied Jerusalem: The United States does not presently support an attack on Iran, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday.

Speaking on army radio, Barak said the United States "does not see an action against Iran as the right thing to do at the moment", but shared Israel's view that "no option should be removed from the table".

A report in Israel's Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday alleged that the United States has refused to supply Israel with military hardware to help it prepare for a possible attack on Iran.

The report said that Washington warned Israel against an attack against Iran and denied Israel requests for offensive military hardware.

However, the United States did offer to improve the Jewish state's defences against surface-to-surface missiles, the report added.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak did not deny the Haaretz story, but refused to discuss it. "It would not be right to talk about these things," Barak said.

Haaretz did not specify what weapons Israel requested, but said Washington had told Israel its aircraft would be denied permission to use Iraqi airspace to reach Iran.

Barak said Iran was a "threat to the whole world order, and there are many actions to be made in the realm of intelligence and preventive measures".

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