WarSclerotic

Israel Hayom.

The Iranian nuclear facility in Bushehr. | Photo credit: AFP

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Intelligence recently provided to the U.S. by Israel regarding developments in Iran, and threats of the use of force by the Israel Defense Forces against Tehran’s nuclear program, played a central role in the uptick of comments by senior U.S. defense officials against Iran this week.

Furthermore, the assessment in Israel is that several other U.S. allies in the Middle East have made it clear to Washington that if it does not seriously intend to stop Tehran’s nuclear march, these countries would have to conduct a reassessment of their strategic positions – a reassessment not necessarily in Washington’s favor.

The Israeli intelligence, as well as the messages by U.S. allies in the Middle East, apparently impacted U.S. defense officials this week.

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Speaking in quick succession, both U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told U.S. media outlets that Iran’s drive for nuclear weapons would be a “red line” and that a military option against Iran “is executable.”

Speaking on CBS, Panetta said Iran could develop its first nuclear weapon within one year.

A Pentagon spokesman later clarified Panetta was speaking “hypothetically” and that the defense secretary was not suggesting there was new intelligence pointing to any secret nuclear facilities in Iran. In the interview, Panetta also refused to rule out military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons but unlike previous statements, he made no mention of the potential risks associated with a strike that he has warned of repeatedly.

“If they proceed and we get intelligence that they’re proceeding in developing a nuclear weapon, then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop it,” Panetta said.

Panetta’s remarks stand in stark contrast to comments he made two weeks ago when, speaking at the Saban Forum, the U.S. defense secretary said he was more concerned about the potential backlash of an Israeli military strike against Iran.

“The United States would obviously be blamed and we could possibly be the target of retaliation from Iran, striking our ships, striking our military bases … there are economic consequences to that attack – severe economic consequences that could impact a very fragile economy in Europe and a fragile economy here in the United States,” Panetta said.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, “The change in American statements on Iran are a very important development.”

Speaking on Israel Radio on Thursday morning, several days after returning from a series of meetings with top Obama administration officials, Barak said that “If any of my meetings with American officials contributed to this, then I’m happy about it. It is also important that the Iranians hear this, because it shows them that there are consequences,” Barak told Israel Radio.

Barak met with President Barack Obama just before the latter’s speech to the Union of Reform Judaism biennial last week.

“The Iranians are working to provide themselves with immunity against a military intervention. It is good that neither us, the Americans, as well as others, are working to deny them this immunity. It is good that the Iranians know that Israel and America will not allow them to get nuclear weapons,” Barak added.

On Wednesday, U.S. Chief of Staff Martin E. Dempsey meanwhile told CNN in an interview that he is formulating plans for a U.S. military attack on Iran, which would be launched should U.S. President Barack Obama decide to stop Tehran’s drive for nuclear weapons.

“My biggest worry is [the Iranians] will miscalculate our resolve,” Dempsey said during the interview.

The U.S. general confirmed that despite the recent loss of a U.S. drone in Iran – which was reported to have been used for surveillance in the country — U.S. spying efforts there have not ceased.

“If you are asking ‘are we gathering intelligence against Iran in a variety of means?’ the answer is of course,” Dempsey told CNN. “It would be rather imprudent of us not to try to understand what a nation who has declared itself to be an adversary of the United States is doing.”

In an angry response to the recent U.S. statements, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday, “They don’t want to let Iran flourish. They don’t want us to take advantage of all the opportunities that lie before us. All of our enemies’ moves are aimed at preventing development and progress in Iran.”

In the meantime, the U.S. is intensifying efforts at the U.N. Security Council to put pressure on Iran.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice urged the council to redouble efforts to implement sanctions against Iran, saying this “will show Iran there is a price to pay for its deception.”

She said stepped-up implementation can also slow down Iran’s nuclear program and buy time to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis through diplomatic means.

The U.S. ambassador pointed to a report last month by the International Atomic Energy Agency which concluded that some alleged clandestine work by Iran could not be used for any other purpose than making nuclear arms.

“No one, after reading the November report, can reasonably believe Iran’s contention that its continuing uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes only,” she said, adding that the IAEA board’s censure of Iran showed that its “illicit nuclear activities are unacceptable.”

Rice called on the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against Iran and its panel of experts to act “robustly” in implementing sanctions and investigating violations.

“In the face of Iran’s deception and intransigence, the international community must speak with one voice, making clear that Iranian actions jeopardize international peace and security and will only further isolate the regime,” she said.

Meanwhile, senior IAEA officials may visit Iran for talks over its nuclear program, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday, a day after an Iranian envoy suggested Tehran would be ready to discuss international concerns and remove “ambiguities” about its atomic activities.

Iran’s latest overture to the Vienna-based agency, which has long urged Tehran to address disputes about its nuclear agenda, coincides with the sharpening of international sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear work.

“We’re working on a possible visit,” Gill Tudor, spokeswoman for the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in an email response to a question. She gave no further details.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA on Tuesday told Reuters that Tehran had renewed its invitation — first issued in October — for a senior agency team to travel to the Islamic Republic.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh said the purpose would be “to work to remove any ambiguities with the aim of resolving the issues and to conclude and stop this endless process.”

Iran initially invited Herman Nackaerts, IAEA deputy director general and head of nuclear safeguards inspections worldwide, in October. But Iran’s angry reaction to the agency report the following month threw those plans into doubt.

Western diplomats tend to see such invitations as attempts by Iran, a major oil producer, to buy time and ease international pressure without heeding U.N. demands to curb activity that could be put to making atomic bombs and be transparent about its program to ease misgivings about it.

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