Biden says US won’t dictate to Israel if it decides to strike Iranian nuke sites

September 30th, 2009 Israel: New Iranian reactor requires new sanctionsJERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister won't rule out a military strike on Iran after the discovery of a secret Iranian nuclear facility. Ehud Barak says severe sanctions must be imposed on Iran following the revelations of the clandestine uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom.

September 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Israel has rejected reports which suggested that it has ruled out using military power to counter Iran's nuclear weapon programme. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Israel can not guarantee it will not strike Iran.

August 31st, 2009 LOS ANGELES - If Iran does not accept international proposals to roll back its nuclear programme by next month, it faces an imminent Israeli strike, a newspaper article said. In an opinion piece Sunday authored by Micah Zenko who is a political scientist with expertise in national security issues, the Los Angeles Times said Israel will act alone to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon.

August 26th, 2009 Iran gets support for ban on nuke plant attacksVIENNA — Iran, whose nuclear facilities are under threat of possible Israeli military strikes, has enlisted the support of more than 100 nonaligned nations in its push for a ban on such attacks, according to documents shared with The Associated Press. The 118-nation Nonaligned Movement backs Tehran in a letter submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency endorsing Iran's plan to submit a resolution on the topic when IAEA nations meet next month.

July 29th, 2009 JERUSALEM - US National Security Advisor James Jones was in Israel Wednesday for briefings related to Iran's nuclear programme, in the midst of a week of intense US-Israeli diplomacy. General Jones heard updates from senior Israeli security officials, before scheduled meetings with Israel Army Chief of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later in the day.

July 26th, 2009 NEW YORK - US Defence Secretary Robert M. Gates will address Israel's growing anxiety over Iran's nuclear work during his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem on Monday.

July 20th, 2009 JERUSALEM - A senior US defense official has warned that an Israeli strike on Iran could have profoundly destabilizing consequences, and would directly affect US interests. "A unilateral third-party attack on Iran's nuclear program could have profoundly destabilizing consequences, and it wouldn't just affect the general level of stability in the region.

July 8th, 2009 Netanyahu aide: US contrasting with Israel on IranJERUSALEM — Comments by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden about a possible Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities were directed at Iran and meant to "distinguish" the U.S. from Israel, the Israeli premier's national security adviser said Wednesday.

July 6th, 2009 Israeli FM praises Biden on Iran standJERUSALEM — Israel's hard-line foreign minister on Monday welcomed Vice President Joe Biden's statement that Israel can make its own decision about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, calling it "logical." But other Israeli leaders avoided comment, a low-key reaction that suggested Israel did not see Biden's comments as a green light to strike against its biggest Mideast rival. President Barack Obama underlined that diplomacy with Iran remains an option.

July 5th, 2009 LONDON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been assured by the chief of the country's intelligence agency Mossad, Meir Dagan, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran's nuclear sites. Dagan held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility of such a raid earlier this year.

June 17th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The chief of Israel's intelligence agency has expressed fear over Iran's capability to make a nuclear bomb by 2014, which he claims, could have "an existential threat to Israel." "Iran wants to be like Egypt was in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a lot of cooperation between Iran, North Korea and Syria.

June 12th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel has said that even if former Iran Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi wins Friday's presidential elections, his country's quest for being nuclear-armed will not diminish. As more than 46.2 million eligible Iranian voters choose their president in elections on Friday, senior Israeli defense officials have stressed that the outcome is unlikely to have any impact on Teheran's continued race toward nuclear power.

May 18th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama has said he understands why Israel considers Iran an existential threat. "I understand very clearly that Israel considers Iran an existential threat, and given some of the statements that have been made by [Iranian] President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, you can understand why," The Jerusalem Post quoted Obama, as saying.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Vice-President Joe Biden has placed America on a collision course with Israel, urging the new government to accept the goal of a Palestinian state and stop expanding Jewish settlements on occupied land. Biden used an address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee - the leading pro-Israeli lobby group in the United States - to deliver a tough message to Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's new prime minister.

April 18th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The Israeli military is preparing to launch a massive aerial strike on Iran's nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government. "Israel wants to know that if its forces were given the green light they could strike at Iran in a matter of days, even hours.