Gates: Israel will not attack Iran this year, maybe

Last update - 08:39 02/04/2009       
'Israel unlikely to attack Iran this year'
By Shahar Ilan, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Financial Times on Wednesday that Israel is unlikely to launch military operations against Iranian nuclear installations this year in a bid to derail the Islamic regime's drive to attain atomic weapons.

 

"I guess I would say I would be surprised if they did act this year," Gates told the Financial Times.

 

Upon taking office this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a strategic threat to Israel, and that neutralizing that threat is a top priority of his new administration.
 
In the interview with the Financial Times, Gates said he believed that Iran would not cross the nuclear threshold, or "red line", this year. He estimated that it would take Tehran between one to three years to reach the point it possessed enough know-how to produce nuclear weapons...

 

And blablahblah after that... .