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U.S., Israel Discuss "Red Lines" for Iran

(Daily Beast) Eli Lake - The White House has reassured the Israelis that the administration had its own "red lines" that would trigger military action against Iran, and that there is no need for Jerusalem to act unilaterally. Israel has not agreed to ask the U.S. for permission or give significant advance warning of any pending strike. The sensitive work of trying to get both allies on the same page intensified this month with new conversations between the U.S. and Israel over what the triggers - called "red lines" in diplomatic parlance - would be to justify a pre-emptive attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. Matthew Kroenig, who served as special adviser on Iran to the Office of the Secretary of Defense between July 2010 and July 2011, offered some of the possible "red lines" for a military strike in a recent Foreign Affairs article. He argued that the U.S should attack Iran's facilities if Iran expels international nuclear weapons inspectors, begins enriching its stockpiles of uranium to weapons-grade levels of 90 percent, or installs advanced centrifuges at its main uranium-enrichment facility in Qom. Earlier this month, Israeli diplomats, military officers and intelligence officials were in Washington for an annual meeting called the strategic dialogue. At the meeting, the Israeli side offered a new presentation on Iran's nuclear program, suggesting that Iran's efforts to build secret reactors for producing nuclear fuel were further along than the U.S. has publicly said. Some of the intelligence was based on soil samples collected near the suspected sites.
2011-12-28 00:00:00
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