Washington sends message to Tehran confirming no support for Israeli attack

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth claims that the US has sent a secret message to Iran stating that America will not support Israel in a military strike against Iranian targets and will not take part in any such attack.

The newspaper reported that senior officials in the US administration sent a confidential message to Iran through two European countries acting as a communication conduit between Washington and Tehran in times of crisis. The officials, it is alleged, said that the United States does not intend to be dragged behind Israel if it decides unilaterally to attack Iran’s nuclear installations, and that it expects in return that Iran shall not strike or target strategic American sites in the Gulf, including US warships deployed in the region.

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This message, along with recent statements made by US Chief of Staff General Martin Dempsey and other officials that the Washington is not interested in being complicit in an Israeli operation against Iranian targets, reflects the depth of the dispute and the extent of the deterioration of the relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama. According to Israeli political sources quoted by Yedioth Ahronoth, the Obama administration decided to warn decision-makers in Israel against the destructive results of an Israeli attack without US coordination.

It was reported that Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday that the international sanctions are a burden for Iran but are not delaying the development of its nuclear project. The Israeli prime minister noted that during the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran last week, delegates from one hundred and twenty countries heard Iran make anti-Israel statements but none of them left the conference chamber.