Israel's deputy prime minister has criticised the Obama administration for sending "mixed messages" to Iran in the wake of a report that Tehran has doubled its capacity to enrich uranium.
Israel's deputy prime minister has criticised the Obama administration for sending "mixed messages" to Iran in the wake of a report that Tehran has doubled its capacity to enrich uranium.
Moshe Yaalon made explicit the growing gulf between Israel and its closest ally, saying that Iran did not take seriously the military threat it was under regarding its nuclear programme.
"We have an exchange of views, including with our friends in the United States, who in our opinion, are in part responsible for this feeling in Iran," he told Israeli radio. "There are many cracks in the ring closing tighter on Iran. We criticise this."
His words are striking because Mr Yaalon has been among those in the Israeli cabinet believed to have been seeking time for sanctions against Iran to be allowed to work.
However, the progress in the Iranian nuclear programme, even without firm evidence that it intends to build a nuclear weapon, is being used by Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, and Ehud Barak, the defence minister, to push their case that a military strike is needed sooner rather than later.
The Obama administration, backed by key western allies, believes the risks of a strike outweigh any potential benefits.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, went as far as dissociating America from any attack by Israel, saying that in any case it would only delay and not destroy the nuclear programme. "I don't want to be complicit if they choose to do it," he said.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has also urged Mr Netanyahu to hold off, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had installed 1,000 more centrifuges, the devices that enrich uranium, at its second major enrichment site at Fordow, near Qom. The allegations were rejected by Iran.
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