Israel 'capable of attacking Iran facilities on its own'

Tel Aviv: Iran will possess nuclear weapons unless military action is taken against it, and Israel would be capable of carrying out such an attack, a respected Israeli think-tank said yesterday.

"Time is working in Iran's favour, and barring military action, Iran's possession of nuclear weapons is only a matter of time," Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) said in a statement distributed at a news conference where it released its annual assessment of the Middle East's strategic balance.

In 1981, Israel destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor in a surprise air attack. The INSS think-tank stopped short of calling for an Israeli military strike to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Giora Eiland, a former Israeli national security adviser and a retired general, said there would not be a military strike without a full 'strategic and military' understanding with the US. INSS head Zvi Shtauber, a retired general who also served as senior policy adviser to former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, said Israel was "technically" capable of striking alone and would have to do so if it takes action, because no other country would agree to work openly with Israel.