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U.S. Reassures Israel on Iran Plans

(Wall Street Journal) Adam Entous and Joshua Mitnick - A senior U.S. official said Thursday the U.S. and Israel appeared to be on the same page regarding Iran. The official said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other officials, in talks in Jerusalem, made clear the Obama administration was prepared to take military action to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Any decision on a U.S.-led strike would depend on intelligence about Iran's nuclear program and would only come once diplomatic options have been exhausted, officials said. U.S. intelligence agencies believe they'll know if and when Iran is close to building a bomb. U.S. officials have suggested a decision on military action won't have to be made until next year or later. It is unclear whether the Israeli air force would be able to destroy many of Iran's heavily fortified nuclear sites without U.S. help, U.S. and Israeli officials say. Pentagon officials say the U.S. would be far more effective than Israel at setting back the Iranian program because of the U.S.'s fleet of stealth aircraft and more powerful bombs. A senior U.S. defense official said after Panetta's talks, "There's no daylight between the two countries. Both agree that sanctions are having an impact on the Iranian economy but haven't yet convinced the regime to make the right decisions."
2012-08-03 00:00:00
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