US Senator favours Israel making its own decisions on attacking Iran

October 9th, 2009 TEHRAN - Mojtaba Zolnour, an aide to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly said that if the US or Israel attacks Iran, Teheran would retaliate and "blow up the heart of Israel". Zolnour threatened that "Even if one American or Zionist missile hits our country, before the dust settles, Iranian missiles will blow up the heart of Israel', The Jerusalem Post reports.

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 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 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.

July 26th, 2009 Clinton says Israel should be patient on IranWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is implicitly urging Israel to give U.S. policy on Iran's nuclear ambitions a chance to work.

July 10th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Although Iran is capable of building a nuclear bomb within a year, but the Islamic republic is unlikely to take such a decision, both Israel and the US believe. According to the Israeli assessment, Iran will decide to make a nuclear bomb only in the "worst case scenario," but both Jerusalem and Washington currently believe that such a scenario is not likely to materialize.

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 7th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel Sunday urged the international community to take determined action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The Israeli foreign ministry also questioned the UN nuclear watchdog's ability to monitor Iran's nuclear programme.

June 3rd, 2009 FM says Israel does not intend to bomb IranMOSCOW — Israel's foreign minister says his country does not intend to bomb Iran. Avigdor Lieberman is also telling reporters that other countries in the region and around the world should be concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

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 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 5th, 2009 Israeli president: US approach to Iran OK for nowWASHINGTON — Israeli President Shimon Peres offered a cautious endorsement of new U.S. overtures to Iran following a longer-than-expected White House meeting with President Barack Obama.

April 28th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak has described Iran as the country posing the most central threat not only to the Jewish state, but also to the entire world. "Iran was "a threat to the entire world, as it is interested in changing the entire international order and is a source of instability in the Middle East and throughout the world," the Jerusalem Post quoted Barak, as saying.

March 2nd, 2009 TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday called for a stronger alliance with Syria in a bid to resist Israel and its allies over the Palestinian crisis. In a meeting with visiting Syrian Prime Minister Mahmoud Naji Otri, Ahmadinejad praised the two countries' position on the international and regional issues, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

February 3rd, 2009 HERZLIA - Diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear programme must be accompanied by a clear timeline, after which harsh sanctions could be imposed, accompanied by a willingness to act, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said. He told an international conference in Herzlia, north of Tel Aviv, Tuesday that all options regarding Iran were on the table.