The Obama administration is trying to work with the international community to try to persuade Iran to stop any alleged military nuclear programme, and the rigorous programme of sanctions has been at the heart of this process. The whole handling of the P5+1 negotiations and the sanctions has been much criticised, but at least the administration is trying to find a peaceful way forward without resorting to the chaos of war.
This is in stark contrast to the military ambitions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is itching to attack Iran to achieve what he sees as a gain by hitting Iran’s nuclear facilities. In reality such an action would result in very little as Israel would only be able to strike a few of Iran’s facilities, but it would certainly profit from the greatly increased tension in the region.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has just spent two days in Israel, and at the end of his visit had to withstand a verbal attack from Netanyahu who dismissed the sanctions as having no effect, and added the threat that, “Iran believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear programme.
This must change quickly because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out.”
This was despite Panetta arguing that the US reserved the right to all possible options to stop Iran getting a nuclear bomb, a time-honoured phrase describing possible military action.
This was not enough for the belligerent Netanyahu who had just had the pleasure of hosting the appallingly simplistic Mitt Romney, Obama’s Republican challenger, who agreed with Netanyahu that Iran should not be allowed to even have the technology that might lead to a bomb, despite many of these technologies being used for peaceful purposes.
But their dispute was not that serious: Panetta chose to address the press in front of an Iron Dome missile launcher of the new system that the US has just agreed to pay for and supply to Israel.
