U.S., Israel at Odds Over Iran Nuclear Program

The White House recently expressed confidence that American intelligence will know if Iran escalates its nuclear program in a sprint to build an atomic bomb. The announcement came a day after Israel’s defense minister warned that the allies might not know “in time” to prevent it.

“We have eyes, we have visibility into the program,” press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing. “We feel confident that we would be able to detect a break-out move by Iran towards the acquisition of a nuclear weapon.”

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U.S. Aides in Israel Give Assurances About Iran

President Obama and his senior advisers have said little publicly about Iran since the resumption of negotiations over its nuclear program in April, preferring to let the diplomats hash out the issues in the hope that tensions with Tehran can be managed, at least until the election in November. In Israel, however, the United States is saying plenty, with a stream of current and former officials traveling there to threaten additional sanctions on Iran and to reiterate President Obama’s readiness to use military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.

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US House Votes To Raise Security Ties With Israel

The US House of Representatives on May 9th overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation that reaffirms and enhances US policy commitments to Israel’s security. The United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, which was sponsored by House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor (RVa.) and House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), passed by a vote of 411-2. The two members that voted against the legislation were Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and John Dingell (D-Mich.). Also, nine members of the House voted “present” on the legislation.

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