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A rising chorus of Israeli voices is again raising the possibility of carrying out a
military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in what appears to be an attempt to draw renewed
attention to Tehran's atomic program — and Israel's unhappiness with international negotiations
with the Iranians. In recent days, a series of newspaper reports
and comments by top defense officials have signaled that the military option remains
very much on the table. While Israeli officials say Israel never shelved the possibility of
attacking, the heightened rhetoric marks a departure from Israel's subdued approach since
six world powers opened negotiations with Iran last November.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been an outspoken critic of the international efforts
to negotiate a deal with Iran. He has spent years warning the world against the dangers
of a nuclear-armed Iran and fears a final deal will leave much of Iran's nuclear capabilities
intact. But since the global powers reached an interim
agreement with Iran last November, Netanyahu's warnings about Iran have been largely ignored.
A frustrated Israeli leadership now appears to be ratcheting up the pressure on the international
community to take a tough position in its negotiations with Iran.
A front-page headline in the daily Haaretz on Thursday proclaimed that Netanyahu has
ordered "to prep for strike on Iran in 2014" and has allocated 10 billion shekels (2.87
billion dollars) for the groundwork. Earlier this week, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon hinted
that Israel would have to pursue a military strike on its own, with the U.S. having chosen
the path of negotiations. And the military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, said this week
that Iran "is not in an area that is out of the military's range."
An Israeli military strike would be extremely difficult to pull off, both for logistical
and political reasons. Any mission would likely require sending Israeli warplanes into hostile
airspace, and it remains unclear how much damage Israel could inflict on a program that
is scattered and hidden deep underground. In addition, it would likely set off an international
uproar, derail the international negotiations and trigger retaliation on Israeli and U.S.
targets.