US Is Ready for Attack on Iran If Need Be, Says US Ambassador to Israel

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said this week his nation’s military is ready to execute “the military option” on Iran’s nuclear program if need be.

Makor Rishon reported that Shapiro, speaking at a meeting of the Israel Bar Association for Tel Aviv and the Central Region, said that not is an American military option available, but that made all necessary preparations to carry it out were complete.

“We do not know if sanctions and diplomacy will work,” Shapiro said of Western efforts to force Tehran to halt its controversial uranium enrichment program. “So, all options are on the table, including the military option.”

Shapiro said US President Barak Obama made it clear in previous meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu – and public pronouncements – that the US will do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

NDAA Authorizes War Against Iran

This week, Congress is considering two pieces of legislation relating to Iran. The first undermines a diplomatic solution with Iran and lowers the bar for war. The second authorizes a war of choice against Iran and begins military preparations for it.

H.Res.568: Eliminating the Most Viable Alternative to War

The House is expected to vote on H.Res. 568. Read the resolution. Section (6) rejects any United States policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran. Section (7) urges the President to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and opposition to any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to Iranian enrichment.

28 Bills from the 112th Congress ranked by relevance on “H.Res.568 “. 

This language represents a significant shift in U.S. policy and would guarantee that talks with Iran, currently scheduled for May 23, would fail. Current U.S. policy is that Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons. Instead, H. Res. 568 draws the “redline” for military action at Iran achieving a nuclear weapons “capability,” a nebulous and undefined term that could include a civilian nuclear program. Indeed, it is likely that a negotiated deal to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and to prevent war would provide for Iranian enrichment for peaceful purposes under the framework of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty with strict safeguards and inspections. This language makes such a negotiated solution impossible.

“I think this is a statement that America can take to the bank, that Israel can take to the bank, and that Iran should take to the bank,” Shapiro said.

“We believe that there is a window – not an unlimited time – in which we can still use diplomacy to achieve our goal,” he said.

Shapiro stressed “At some point we will have to decide if diplomacy has failed. What we want to do is give it any chance, because this is another thing that Israel and the US agree on – that it’s better to solve this diplomatically and through sanctions, than through military force.”

A previous round of talks held earlier this year resulted in no progress other than an agreement for more talks.

Ahead of those talks International Atomic Energy Agency officials have pressured Iran for access to sites where they suspect Iran has conducted nuclear research of a military nature.

In particular, IAEA officials want Iran to address concerns expressed in an extensive IAEA report in November that at least until 2003, and possibly since, that Tehran has engaged in nuclear activities of a decidedly military nature.

Two previous trips to Tehran in January and February by the IAEA resulted in Iran denying international inspectors access to suspected nuclear sites.source