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U.S. concerned Israel will not warn them before Iran attack

Iran Materials 5 November 2011 13:20 (UTC +04:00)
U.S. officials are concerned that Israel will not warn them before taking military action against Iran's nuclear facilities.
U.S. concerned Israel will not warn them before Iran attack

U.S. officials are concerned that Israel will not warn them before taking military action against Iran's nuclear facilities, a senior U.S. military official said on Friday, Haaretz reported referring to CNN.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, told the CNN network that although in the past, U.S. officials thought they would receive warning from Israel if it did take military action against Iran, "now that doesn't seem so ironclad."

The U.S. is "absolutely" concerned that Israel is preparing an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, and this concern is increasing, the official said.

The U.S. has increased its "watchfulness" of Iran and Israel over the past few weeks, U.S. Central and European Commands, which watch Iranian and Israeli developments respectively, are "increasingly vigilant" at this time, according to the official, and a second military official who also spoke with CNN.

The military official emphasized that the U.S is concerned about the risk a strike against Iran could pose for American troops in Iraq and in the Persian Gulf, according to the CNN report.

The official also said that the U.S. does not intend to follow a military action against Iran, CNN said.

Some Israeli media reports earlier this week quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak as warning that a military strike on Iran was an option.

According to the Haaretz daily, Netanyahu and Barak now lobbying Cabinet members for an attack.

On Friday, President Shimon Peres said that he believes Israel and the world may soon take military action against Iran.

The Israeli top officials' statements came on the eve of publication of the IAEA report, which is expected detail the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program.

Shortly after the statements, Israel has successfully test-fired a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran.

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