'Single strike would not halt Iran's nuclear program'
By REUTERS
08/28/2011 21:18
Senior defense official says Iran's nuclear program not easily derailed like Iraq or Syria; claims Iranian regime's biggest fear is US.
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Israel would not be able to halt Iran's reported quest for atomic weapons with a single strike, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday.
The defense official, who in line with Israeli army guidelines declined to be identified, mentioned Iran during a review of the security situation in the Middle East in a briefing to foreign reporters.
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"We're not talking about Iraq or Syria where one strike would derail a program," the official said, referring to Israel's 1981 air strike that destroyed Iraq's atomic reactor and the bombing in 2007 of a Syrian site which the UN atomic agency said was very likely a nuclear reactor.
"With Iran it's a different project. There is no one silver bullet you can hit and that's over," the official said.
Israeli leaders have urged the United States and other Western countries to present Tehran with a credible military threat to back up economic sanctions already in place.
The official said the United States stood a better chance of forcing Iran to change its mind over its nuclear program than Israel.
"With all respect to Israel ... the greatest fear of the (Iranian) regime is the USA. There is no question about it."
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