TEL AVIV, March 10: The United States has complained to Israel about constant leaks by senior officials about the date of an attack on Iraq, Israel media said on Monday.

But US ambassador Dan Kurtzer told reporters after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom that media reports Washington will not alert its close ally before any attack as a result of the leaks were baseless.

“Washington sent in the past few days a message expressing its concern” over the leaks, said army radio.

As a result of the complaints, the Israeli foreign ministry has asked Israeli diplomats not to talk about Iraq, ministry officials said.

The daily Maariv said Washington was “seething” at the leaks and that “as a result security establishment officials have decided to assume that the offensive will come as a complete surprise”.

But Kurtzer denied that Washington would punish Israel by withholding the exact timing of its planned attack to oust President Saddam Hussein and disarm Iraq.

“The cooperation between our two countries is unbelievably good and it is unparalleled in the history of our relations, and there’s no way we are going to surprise our ally. I don’t know where those press reports came from but they are without foundation,” he said.

The head of Israel’s military intelligence, Gen Aharon Zeevi, told the cabinet on Sunday that a US attack could begin as soon as this week, even if the UN Security Council vetoes a new resolution explicitly authorizing the use of force to disarm Iraq.—AFP