Israel Presents New Data to Change US View on Iran Nuclear Capability

[Scurrilous]

Text of report by Israeli NRG Ma'ariv website on 1 August

<snip>

"Israel has presented to the United States new intelligence, indicating that the activities of Iran's "weapons group" have been resumed and that Iran is close to having the ability to mount nuclear warheads on long-range missiles. This information was presented in the contacts that have recently been held between Israel and the United States as well as in the strategic dialogue meeting held by the Israeli team, headed by Minister Sha'ul Mufaz, in Washington on Thursday.

According to information received in Israel, a new and updated national intelligence estimate is going to be published in the United States in the next few months after the last one shocked the world with the conclusion that Iran's secret "weapons group" has been shut down since 2003. Now the hope in Israel is that the United States will change its estimate.

According to senior intelligence sources, Britain, France and Germany share Israel's information and assessment, whereas at this stage, only the United States remains alone in adhering to its position.

According to the information in Israel and in many European capitals, in 2009, the Iranians will attain the capability to enrich enough uranium to build a nuclear bomb. One year later, the enrichment will reach military levels and the production of fissile material in sufficient quantities, including the know-how for installing a nuclear bomb on the platform of a long-range missile. Iran has a military programme known as "Ashura" to extend the missiles' range by thousands of kilometres so that at the first stage they will be able to cover most of Europe's territory."

<snip>

"At this stage, the Israeli effort has been encountering rather stubborn US opposition. Defence Minister Ehud Baraq has said recently in closed conversations that "Israel has no political window of opportunity to strike Iran." In Washington, Mufaz tried to apply additional pressure. A fierce behind-the-scenes battle is currently under way in Washington between Vice President Dick Cheney, who supports an attack on Iran and holds a militant position on the issue, on the one hand, and the secretary of defence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the other hand. The latter have recently made appeasing statements and have vetoed an Israeli attack."

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[ladjf]

1. Here we go again. Get ready for "yellow cake".

[Tempest]

2. Why is it always Israel

And not some other, more neutral country that comes up with the intelligence?

[TwilightGardener]

3. So...Gates and Mullen are viewed as "appeasers"? I wonder why Gates is still

SecDef--what does it say about the Cheney/neocon contingent that they can't get around this guy? Why haven't they gotten his resignation yet, forced him out? I wonder if there's a big rift or power struggle between Cheney and Bush behind the scenes?

[Scurrilous]

4. Iran Heads Toward Nuclear `Breakthrough,' Israel Says

<snip>

"Iran is on a path toward a "major breakthrough" in its nuclear program that is "unacceptable," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz told a Washington audience today.

"It is an existential threat," Mofaz said at a forum on Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "We have to make sure we are prepared for every option."

Mofaz, a former Israeli army chief of staff, is a potential future leader of Israel because of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's planned departure from office. Mofaz is competing with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for control of the ruling Kadima party after Olmert said July 30 that he won't compete in the party's Sept. 17 primary amid a corruption scandal.

While Mofaz accused the Iranian government of "buying time" in its resistance to international pressure to suspend uranium enrichment, he said the diplomatic "track" should continue.

"We don't want war, we want peace," Mofaz said. "But we will not let the second Holocaust take place."

The comments from Mofaz, who also serves as transportation minister, echoed statements he made last month to the Jerusalem Post that "all options are on the table. If there won't be a choice other than a nuclear Iran or a military option, it's clear what our decision has to be."

Similar threats he made in June contributed to a surge in oil prices."

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[azurnoir]

5. Ok now let's see

According to senior intelligence sources, Britain, France and Germany share Israel's information and assessment, whereas at this stage, only the United States remains alone in adhering to its position.

can not help but notice that the article neither says just who's "intelligence" sources Israel's or the US's or if the other countries mentioned share Israel's conclusions

A fierce behind-the-scenes battle is currently under way in Washington between Vice President Dick Cheney, who supports an attack on Iran and holds a militant position on the issue, on the one hand, and the secretary of defence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the other hand. The latter have recently made appeasing statements and have vetoed an Israeli attack.

May have vetoed Israel's attack? Washington dictates Israeli war policy? or is it Dick say yes, Bob say no?

Any dialogue with Iran, which takes time, enables it to continue the mad rush for a nuclear bomb, which will endanger the entire world, he said.`

Mofaz parties like it's 1939