Senator John McCain said Wednesday that he does not believe Israel is currently considering military action against Iran over its contentious nuclear program, The Washington Post reported. “I don’t believe we are at the point of making that kind of decision, nor is the Israeli government, given the state that Iran is in now as far as the development of their nuclear weapons is concerned,” McCain told reporters after talks with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.McCain was visiting Yerushalayim this week, along with fellow Republican senator, Lindsey O. Graham, and Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman.
McCain was responding to a question posed to the senators on whether they would support an Israeli strike against Iran. McCain said he could not yet give an opinion on the matter as it “would be dictated by so many different circumstances”, according to The Washington Post.
Lieberman did not respond directly to the question, according to The Post, but said: “We will use every means that we have to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power through diplomatic and economic sanctions if we possibly can, through military action if we must.”
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said late last month that world leaders “believe absolutely” that Israel may decide to take military action against Iran to prevent the latter from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Iran is not guaranteeing a peaceful production of nuclear power [so] the members of the G-8 are worried and believe absolutely that Israel will probably react preemptively,” Berlusconi told reporters following talks with other Group of Eight leaders north of Toronto.
{Haaretz/Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
