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As Iran moves inexorably toward constructing nuclear weapons, Israel grows ever more concerned about Iranian intentions. According to London Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens: "No one watches events in Iran more closely than Israel. Tehran has long been the abiding preoccupation, some would say obsession, of political discourse in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem" ("Israel Struggles to Adapt to a Changing Picture of Iran," July 3, 2009).
The United States finds itself drifting somewhere in the middle-at times confusing Israel with ambiguous announcements from administration leaders. Recent declarations from leading figures in Washington, D.C., have seriously worried Israel's leaders.
For example: "The US would extend its 'defence umbrella' across the Middle East to defend its allies against a nuclear-armed Iran, Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, said yesterday [July 21] ... Mrs Clinton, speaking at a meeting of [Asian] foreign ministers ... said that acquiring nuclear weapons would not make Iran more secure" (Richard Parry, "Clinton Says US Would Arm Its Allies Against a Nuclear Iran," The Times, July 22, 2009, emphasis added throughout).
Such declarations tend to cause Israel to believe that America is going soft on the stark possibility of a nuclear Iran.
The Wall Street Journal's report from Jerusalem stated that "a simmering dispute between the U.S. and Israel over Iran's nuclear program burst into the open on Monday [July 27], as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to Israel, called for continued diplomatic engagement with Tehran, while Israeli officials repeatedly warned of a possible military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities" (Yochi Dreazen, "U.S., Israel Split on Iran," July 28, 2009).
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