On Sunday, Israeli President Shimon Peres rather directly raised the prospect of attacking Iran if the upcoming P5+1 talks, saying that if President Ahmadinejad didn’t soften the nation’s stance “we’ll strike him.” Today, Peres dismissed “speculation” regarding the possible attack, saying they were untrue and “the solution in Iran is not military.”
So how did he get from there to here? The short answer is that the threat to attack Iran (made in an interview on a religious radio station in Israel) is meant for an entirely different audience than today’s comments (made to visiting US envoy George Mitchell).
In addition, since Sunday’s comments US Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned against an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying they would at best slow down the nation’s program while strengthening their determination and infuriating their populace. Iran has also publicly complained to the UN Security Council regarding the repeated threats. In the end, with former Senator Mitchell in the nation hoping to win peace concessions, it seems Peres decided this would be a bad time to appear in favor of starting yet another major war.