Israel
knows better than to orchestrate a strike against Iran by itself, CIA Chief Leon Panetta told the Global Viewpoint weekly in an interview published Tuesday.
| Panetta in Israel |
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| Report: CIA chief in secret Israel talks on Iran / Ron Ben-Yishai, AFP |
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Public radio says top officials, including Netanyahu, Barak assured Leon Panetta that 'Israel does not intend to surprise the US on Iran' |
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"The Israelis are obviously concerned about Iran and focused on it," Pametta told Global Viewpoint editor Nathan Gardels, "But he (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu)
understands that if Israel goes it alone, it will mean big trouble. He knows that for the sake of Israeli security, they have to work together with others."
According to the CIA chief, fighting terrorism is the organization's first priority under President Obama's administration. "Al-Qaeda remains the most serious security threat to America and to our allies overseas," he told the newspaper.
Panetta describedIran
as a "destabilizing force in the Middle east" through its relations with Syria,
support of Hamas
and Hizbullah
and its meddling in Iraq. He said that while the US was seeking to engage Iran diplomatically, it was not naïve about the challenges involved in this.
"The judgment of the US intelligence community is that Iran, at a minimum, is keeping open the option to develop deliverable nuclear weapons. It is our judgment that Iran halted weaponization in 2003, but it continues to develop uranium enrichment technology and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles," he explained.
Panetta also warned of the possibility that if Iran goes nuclear, other countries in the volatile region will be tempted to follow suit. "The last thing we need in the Middle East is a nuclear arms race," he stated.
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