The Bush administration warned outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert not to stage an attack on Iran or stage an all-out assault on Hamas in Gaza, TIME reported Tuesday, quoting senior Defense Ministry officials. The two leaders met and dined together Monday during the prime minister's farewell visit, but the warning previously was issued by senior American officials.
The magazine says that last week's secret visit to Amman by Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak was the result of a request from the Bush administration to Jordanian King Abdullah II to intervene in rocket attacks by terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza on nearby Israeli targets.