Netanyahu Decision to Attack Iran ‘Almost Final’

Israeli PM, DM Looking at Attack Right Before US Vote

Israel’s top television media outlet, Channel 2 News, has announced today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are extremely close to finalizing a decision to attack Iran, saying that the decision could be made any day now.

The two have been pushing for a war for quite some time and are seen “on the brink ” of approving it despite strong opposition from the Israeli military leadership. The news follows unsubstantiated claims earlier this week that Iran’s civilian program is nearing a “breakthrough” and that Netanyahu is convinced the US won’t launch the war for them.

The reports have the same timetable we’ve been seeing for months now, with Israel launching the attack in the weeks leading up to the US Presidential election in November. In February US officials termed the weeks before the vote a “sweet spot” for such a war.

It also includes an analysis of the US election, with Israelis deciding Obama is unlikely to attack Iran before the election and that neither he nor Mitt Romney would be liable to do so in the first year after the vote.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.