Report: US offers Israel advanced arms for not attacking Iran

08 March, 2012, RT.com

The US has proposed that Israel withhold from waging an assault on Iran till the next presidential term in America in exchange for most advanced weaponry, reports Israeli Maariv newspaper.

The proposal was made during the visit of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, the newspaper says, citing unnamed diplomats and intelligence sources.

It adds the Americans have offered Tel Aviv the latest versions of bunker-busting bombs and aerial tankers to gain tactical advantage over Iran. This would imply Israel’s shelving of plans to attack Iran, evidently until America gets a new president in 2013.

The US diplomats allegedly believe such step would enlarge the “opportunity window” for Israel to try to solve the issue of controversial Iranian nuclear program diplomatically.

Speaking to the Israeli prime minister in the Oval Office on Monday, President Obama once again reaffirmed his personal "unprecedented commitment" to Israel's security.

The newspaper does not report on whether PM Netanyahu agreed to accept the proposal.

On Wednesday Netanyahu told Fox News Channel he actually does not think a war with Iran is inevitable.

"The paradox is that if they actually believe that they are going to face the military option, then you probably will not need the military option," Netanyahu said.

The sides also discussed new steps to be taken to isolate the Islamic Republic internationally even further.

At a media briefing in the White House Obama told journalists that America will apply more pressure on Iran despite the fact that “we provide a door for the Iranian regime to walk through," Obama said.

Israel has been stressing for years that the real aim of the Iranian nuclear program is not peaceful energy, but the creation of an atomic bomb, and furthermore, the destruction of the Jewish state. Tehran has consistently denied such allegations, allowing the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities in an attempt to prove that its nuclear program is solely peaceful.