<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile Ñ U.S. on the sidelines: Biden says Israel can attack Iran if it wants to

U.S. on the sidelines: Biden says Israel can attack Iran if it wants to

Monday, July 6, 2009   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

WASHINGTON Ñ After the disastrous Iran elections disrupted plans by the Obama administration to conduct direct diplomacy with the regime in Iran, the White House has now taken the position that Israel has the right to attack Iran in an effort to stop its nuclear weapons program.

Vice President Joseph Biden said Israel can pursue a policy separate from that of U.S. engagement with Teheran. Biden said the administration of President Barack Obama was not pressuring Israel to follow the U.S. policy.

"Israel can determine for itself Ñ it's a sovereign nation Ñ what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," Biden said. "Whether we agree or not, they're entitled to do that."

This was the first time that the Obama administration declared that it would not try to stop an Israeli attack on Teheran. Earlier in 2009, Biden warned against any Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program.

"If the [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that," Biden said in a television interview from Baghdad on July 5. "That is not our choice."

Biden said the administration, despite bloody clashes between Iranian security forces and students, would continue efforts to reconcile with Teheran. He said the White House has submitted a formal offer to Iran.

"If the Iranians respond to the offer of engagement, we will engage," Biden said. "The offer's on the table."

Officials said it was not clear whether Biden's remarks reflected a change in administration policy toward Israel. Over the last year, they said, the White House has relayed several warnings to Israel not to prepare an attack on Teheran.

Over the last few months, Israel has urged Washington and other NATO allies to draft new and harsh sanctions meant to endanger the regime in Teheran. Officials said the White House has refused to discuss additional sanctions on Iran.

Biden's remarks came in wake of a report in the London-based Sunday Times that Israel has received permission for its fighter-jets to use Saudi Arabia's air space in any strike on Iran. The newspaper said the Saudi agreement came amid secret talks between Riyad and Mossad director Meir Dagan in 2009.

Israel has denied the report. A statement from Netanyahu's office termed the report baseless.

"The Sunday Times report is fundamentally false and completely baseless," the Israeli government statement said.

Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military has been concerned over any strike on Iran. Mullen said he has been in regular consultation with Israel's military chief of staff.

"I worry about it being very destabilizing not just in and of itself but the unintended consequences of a strike like that," Mullen said. "It's something I'm engaged with my Israeli counterpart on regularly. But these are really political decisions that have to be made with respect to where the United States is."

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