US Seeks to Reassure Israel of Opposition to Deal

US Seeks to Reassure Israel of Opposition to Deal

by Jason Ditz, September 20, 2013

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After years of Israel insisting that the US only has a matter of months to make a deal with Iran, the inauguration of reformist President Hassan Rohani and offers of serious talks mean a deal could be made in short order. But not if Israel has their way.

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz is now warning the US against agreeing to any talks with the new Iranian president, insisting that the time has “run out” fornegotiations, and that military operations are needed, adding that keeping “all options” on the table was no long sufficient.

Steinitz also went on to claim that Iran is six months from building a nuclear bomb, a bizarre claim since Iran actually has dramatically less enriched uranium now than they did a year ago, since much of it has been used to create fuel for the medical isotope reactor. He also blamed the US for that, saying that if the US had set a specific date for the war with Iran the nation would’ve either been attacked or surrendered by now.

That’s the job of Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry, which was created in 2006 with the explicit purpose of coordinating Israeli hostility toward Iran. US officials seem reluctant to question Israel at all on the matter, and instead are seeking to reassureIsrael that they too oppose the Iranian deal.

http://news.antiwar.com/2013/09/20/israel-too-late-for-us-iran-talks/