Israel Weighs Solo Strikes on Iran

WSJ piece with an excellent graphic on the potential conflict between Israel and Iran. Interestingly, we also seeing the Iranians push back hard on any new Security Council sanctions. I'd be hard pressed to see Turkey give airspace permission given the current relations between Israel and Turkey (bad). I saw reports at one point airbases in Georgia were being considered.

A lot of this may be posturing to try and move the negotiations for sanctions along. "If we don't get a deal, Israel may strike".

Via WSJ and an excerpt below:

In another sign of a split, Israeli officials say they believe Iran—whose president has called for the destruction of Israel—could develop a warhead to strike the country within a year if it decides to, though outside experts say such capability is years away. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful uses.

Such divisions have played into fears in Israel that if Washington's sanctions effort fails, the Israeli and American positions on Iran could rapidly diverge—and Israel, if it chooses to attack Iran, would have no choice but to do so on its own.

U.S. commanders say an attack would invite retaliation by Iran against American military interests in the region, or wider terrorist attacks by Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. Adm. Mullen said Sunday a strike could have "unintended consequences," and has long warned it could destabilize the region at a time the U.S. has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, which neighbor Iran.

A senior U.S. official said the U.S. has stated to Israel its opposition to unilateral Israeli action, but that there were still fears within the administration that Israel could strike Iran despite Washington's objections.