JERUSALEM – The red light Washington has been showing Jerusalem regarding an Israeli air strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities has changed color recently, according to the previous head of Israeli military intelligence.
"The American stance on an Israeli strike has changed dramatically recently," retired Gen. Amos Yadlin said in an interview on Israel Army Radio on Wednesday. "The music I’ve been hearing lately from Washington says ‘If this is truly an overriding Israeli security interest, and you think you want to strike," then the light hasn’t changed to green, I think, but it’s definitely yellow."
Yadlin is former military attache in Washington and still has close ties with officials there. He was one of the eight Israeli pilots who destroyed Iraq’s nuclear reactor in 1981 and was intelligence chief in 2007 when a structure being built for Syria’s secret nuclear program was destroyed by aircraft, reportedly Israeli. He retired from the armed forces three years ago.
Yadlin’s remarks about a softening American position regarding a possible Israeli strike against the Iranian nuclear facilities came as a surprise in view of hopes being placed by the international community in the moderate positions voiced by new Iranian President Hassan Rowhani, who was elected in June in a landslide victory. At a press conference Tuesday in Tehran, Rowhani said he was ready for "serious" talks with the international community regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, he said that Iran would not be intimidated by threats.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in response called on the international community to step up pressure on Iran. "Iran’s president said that pressure won’t work," said Netanyahu. "Not true. The only thing that has worked in the last two decades is pressure. And the only thing that will work now is increased pressure."