A British newspaper reported that Israel is seeking US permission to attack Iran via Iraqi airspace.
The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday that Israeli defense officials and the Pentagon are negotiating regarding a corridor to be used by Israel’s air force should an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities be launched.
The Telegraph quoted an unnamed Israel official saying, "We are planning for every eventuality, and sorting out issues such as these are crucially important. The only way to do this is to fly through US-controlled air space. If we don't sort these issues out now, we could have a situation where American and Israeli war planes start shooting at each other."
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh denied the story, saying that the use of sanctions was far more preferred by Israel. "International authorities, particularly in the West, who want to avoid direct involvement with Iran are anxious to spread the story that we will strike Iran," Sneh told Voice of Israel Radio. "Those who do not want to work politically, diplomatically and economically are diverting attention to the operation that we are said to be conducting," he said.
"The international community's focus should be on imposing economic sanctions on Iran for defying UN Security Council resolutions," he added.
A UN-set deadline by which point Iran was supposed to have stopped producing material for a nuclear bomb has passed, and both US and Israeli officials are openly talking about options in the event Iran does not bow to diplomatic pressure.
The next step along the diplomatic route is set to be decided by the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany in a meeting this Monday in London.
The Telegraph report highlighted British insistence that an "incremental" approach of applying pressure on Iran is starting to shift public opinion within the Islamic theocracy. "We are on the right track,” an unnamed senior source opines. “There is time for diplomacy to take effect."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has also expressed confidence that Iran can be deterred through diplomatic pressure.
US Vice President Richard Cheney declared in Australia Saturday that “all options” are on the table if Iran continues uranium enrichment. “I've also made the point, and the president has made the point, that all options are on the table,” he said. "It would be a serious mistake if a nation such as Iran became a nuclear power."
Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki responded, partially to American citizens, positing, "We do not see America in a position to impose another crisis on its taxpayers inside America by starting another war in the region."