Israeli defense minister: new Iranian reactor requires new sanctions, won’t rule out attack

September 30th, 2009 Analysis: Iran plant could defer Israel strikeJERUSALEM — It may seem counterintuitive, but the news that Iran has a second, clandestine uranium enrichment plant, and has just test-fired long-range missiles, could actually put off any plans for a quick Israeli strike. To be sure, Israel still sees an Iran with nuclear weapons as its greatest threat and has not taken a military assault off the table.

September 26th, 2009 Israel: Iranian nuclear facility for weaponsJERUSALEM — The newly exposed Iranian nuclear facility proves "without a doubt" the Islamic republic is pursuing nuclear weapons, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday. Iran kept the facility, located 100 miles southwest of Tehran, hidden from the U.N.

September 26th, 2009 Israel tells US, time to act on IranJERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the U.S. to take action over a newly revealed Iranian nuclear facility in a phone conversation with American lawmakers, an official in his office said Saturday.

September 24th, 2009 Israel welcomes Russian stand on Iran sanctionsJERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official welcomes steps by Russia toward endorsing additional sanctions against Iran as a way of stopping its nuclear program. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the door to a firm international stand against Iran.

September 22nd, 2009 Netanyahu: Iran suspectible to pressureNEW YORK — Israel reserves the right to defend itself against a nuclear threat from Iran, but the Islamic Republic's inner turmoil and weakened economy make it susceptible to pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. Speculation has been rife that Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent archenemy Tehran from producing the atomic bombs it denies it is trying to build.

September 17th, 2009 Russian FM says no new sanctions on IranMOSCOW — Russia's foreign minister says Moscow firmly opposes any new sanctions against Iran. Sergey Lavrov says new tougher sanctions would ruin hopes for solving the Iranian nuclear program through talks.

August 12th, 2009 Iran calls for ban on striking nuke facilitiesVIENNA, Austria — Iran, whose nuclear facilities are under threat of possible Israeli military strikes, proposed Wednesday that a 150-nation conference convening in the fall ban such attacks. Iran says the proposal, revealed to The Associated Press by diplomats and confirmed by a senior Iranian envoy, is not linked to veiled threats by Israel of an attack as a last resort if the international community fails to persuade Tehran to freeze its nuclear activities.

July 27th, 2009 Israel's Barak: 'No option' off table on IranJERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister told visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday that his country is taking "no option" off the table regarding Iran's nuclear program, indicating that a military strike remains a possibility even as the U.S.

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 4th, 2009 Israeli defense minister, Mitchell to meet againJERUSALEM — An Israeli defense official says Defense Minister Ehud Barak is to hold a second round of talks with U.S. special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell next week in an effort to resolve differences between the two sides on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

June 22nd, 2009 BERLIN - Iran's nuclear weapons programme could destabilise the Middle East and is a threat not just to Israel but the entire world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. In an interview published Monday in German daily Bild, he said the main goal should be to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

June 21st, 2009 Netanyahu declines to second-guess Obama on IranWASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he isn't going to second-guess President Barack Obama's approach on Iran after the Tehran government's political crackdown. Obama has been criticized by Republicans and others for not saying more in defense of Iranians protesting the outcome of the presidential election.

May 15th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Leon Panetta was sent on a secret mission to Israel to warn its leaders not to launch a surprise attack on Iran without notifying Washington. As Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, prepares to visit Washington, it emerged yesterday that Panetta, went to Israel two weeks ago to seek assurances from Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak that their hawkish new Government would not attack Iran without alerting Washington.

May 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - The use of the military option against Iran to halt that country's nuclear program would only yield temporary and ineffective results, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. Gates said a military attack on Iran would merely send the country's nuclear program further underground.

April 29th, 2009 TEHRAN - The report about a missile attack by the US or Israel against an Iranian navy ship is false, an official said Tuesday. 'The report published in certain section of the media was part of a psychological warfare against Iran and is completely baseless,' IRNA reported citing an unnamed Iranian defence official.