WASHINGTON, Nov 23: The United States does not have sufficient intelligence to launch precision attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities but it would not oppose an Israeli attack on these installations, reports Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.
The newspaper quotes US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as telling European politicians and diplomats in recent meetings that the lack of sufficient intelligence prevents the United States from launching military strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations.
The Israeli newspaper, however, claims that US President George W. Bush was not ruling out the possibility that Israel would carry out such strikes against Iran.
According to Haaretz, Mr Bush told President Jacques Chirac of France at a recent meeting that if such an attack were to take place, he would understand why Israel had to do it.
The report said that Ms Rice mentioned three reasons why the United States is currently unable to carry out a military operation against Iran: the wish to solve the crisis through peaceful means; concern that a military strike will be ineffective - that it would fail to completely destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities; and the lack of precise intelligence on the targets' locations.
The report claimed that like President Bush, Ms Rice also did not discount the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iranian facilities.
But unlike President Bush, Secretary Rice did not express the same willingness to show understanding for a possible Israeli strike.
The French government, however, has warned Israel that an Israeli military attack against Iran would be "a total disaster," the report added.
The French believe that while such a strike would at best delay the completion of Iran's nuclear programme by two years but it would have serious implications for the entire world, the report said.
The attack would also result in Iran cancelling its membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, cause a great deal of agitation in the Arab world, lead to a rise in oil prices, and could result in a major Iranian military response that would not target Israel alone, the French warned.
In recent talks with their Israeli counterparts, French government officials estimated that Iran would reach the "point of no return" in its nuclear programme by spring 2007, in approximately five months, the report said.
At that point, Iran will be in a position to simultaneously operate approximately 3,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium, the newspaper said.
International experts estimate that Iran is operating 340-600 such centrifuges.
