REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Egyptian official claims Israeli strike on Iran possible ‘within weeks’
Posted on December 1, 2011 at 10:33 AM EST
By Aaron Klein
TEL AVIV — One of the scenarios being debated within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet entails an Israeli strike against Iran within the next month, a senior Egyptian intelligence official told me.
The official emphasized the timetable is one of several scenarios being seriously considered, according to information obtained by Egypt’s embassy in Tel Aviv.
“Things can happen during the next few weeks,” he said, referring to an Israeli military strike.
The Egyptian official said he had no information that any cabinet decision was taken, and stressed that other timetables are still being discussed.
The intelligence official did not say how his country’s embassy obtained the information.
There are elements of the Egyptian military and diplomatic apparatus that continue to coordinate with Israel, particularly regarding security in the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula.
However, it is doubtful that Egypt, or any other Arab country, would be given advance notice of an Israeli military campaign targeting Iran’s suspected illicit nuclear infrastructure.
While such claims need to be taken with a grain of salt, I have previously found diplomatic and security assessments from this same source to be based on sound information. I decided to not write a news article on the subject, instead noting the Egyptian claim in this blog space.
My own assessment is that the most likely possibility for a near future military confrontation in the Middle East involves the prospect of NATO, coordinating with Turkey, taking a decision to involve itself in the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
Earlier today, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel is not seeking war over Iran’s nuclear program and has no intention of acting now.
Speaking on the chances of an Israeli strike of Iran’s nuclear program, Barak told Israel Radio that “Israel isn’t looking for war with Iran and has no intention of acting right now.”
The defense minister allowed, however, that Israel was “very strong, and far from being paralyzed with fear or fright and must proceed quietly and calmly.”
Barak stressed the need for a diplomatic solution, including sanctions.
“I would have been happy if sanctions and diplomacy could lead the leadership in Tehran to completely discard the military nuclear program,” Barak said.
