Netanyahu Angrily Breaks Up Key Cabinet Meeting on Iran, Citing Leaks

The Israeli Prime Minister and his pro-war crowd seem to have failed at pushing for an immediate strike on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu angrily broke up a key cabinet meeting on Iran on Wednesday, accusing one participant of leaking details of the secretive meetings to the press.

Israel’s Security Cabinet meeting convened on Tuesday to discuss regional threats, primarily Iran. When the group reconvened on Wednesday, Netanyahu sent everyone home saying whoever spoke to the media violated “the most basic trust.”

Netanyahu didn’t specify what information was leaked, but Israel’s top newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, did report that Israeli intelligence organizations disagreed over Israel’s ability to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities effectively on its own.

The outburst is illustrative of Netanyahu’s frustration at seemingly failing in his push to pressure Washington to back it’s preemptive strike on Iran, for a nuclear weapons program both countries admit doesn’t exist. Last week, America’s top military official Gen. Martin Dempsey reiterated that the US would not be “complicit” in an Israeli strike, which he explained would be counterproductive.

Not only is the US military and intelligence community against such a military strike on Iran for now, but much of the Israeli leadership is as well, and the leak was another indication of that. Netanyahu and his pro-war supporter Defense Minister Ehud Barak seem to be slowly and reluctantly backing away from their trigger-happy postures.

Author: John Glaser

John Glaser writes for Antiwar.com.