Iran Nuclear Watch: Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh – Strike on Iran Possible

Russian Security Council head Igor Ivanov (front L) invites Iran ‘s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani (front R) to talks as journalists watch in Moscow November 10, 2006. Iran will review relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the U.N. Security Council presses ahead with a European draft resolution imposing sanctions, Iran’s nuclear negotiator said.

AP: Israel official: Strike on Iran possible

The deputy defense minister suggested Friday that Israel might be forced to launch a military strike against Iran’s disputed nuclear program â€” the clearest statement yet of such a possibility from a high-ranking official.

“I am not advocating an Israeli pre-emptive military action against Iran and I am aware of its possible repercussions,” Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, a former general, said in comments published Friday in The Jerusalem Post. “I consider it a last resort. But even the last resort is sometimes the only resort.”

Sneh’s comments did not necessarily reflect the view of Israel’s government or of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said government spokeswoman Miri Eisin.

Olmert, who was arriving in Washington on Sunday, said he was confident in the U.S. handling of the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. The Bush administration and other nations say is a cover for developing atomic weapons, but Tehran says the program is peaceful.

“I have enormous respect for President Bush. He is absolutely committed,” Olmert said in an interview on NBC’s “Today” show. “I know that America will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons because this is a danger to the whole Western world.”

The “POINT OF NO RETURN” for Israel and the United States is drawing near. Negotiations are going nowhere in the United Nations Security Council regarding punitive sanctions.

A military operation is LIKELY.

Will the American public and Western World tolerate the short-term disruption of oil supplies?

The West will have to adjust.