One of the top officials in the Israeli cabinet, Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon has condemned President Obama today, saying that he is not being nearly hostile enough toward the Iranian government and needs to impose harsher sanctions.
Yaalon, who also holds the position of Strategic Affairs Minister (a cabinet position created explicitly for moving against Iran), insisted that Obama was trying to avoid an embargo on Iran’s oil exports “for fear of oil prices rising this year, out of election-year considerations.”
Israeli officials say that Yaalon’s position “reflects the thinking of some within the country’s national security establishment.” Other Israeli officials are said to be demanding serious moves from the US in “the next few weeks.”
The comments come as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey is scheduled to arrive in Israel soon, set to discuss growing concern among US military leaders that Israel is planning to start a war with Iran over US objections and without informing the US beforehand.
