US, Israel fully coordinated on Iran, US ambassador reaffirms

Feb 23, 2012, 20:21 GMT

Jerusalem - The United States and Israel are fully coordinated on the need to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and have not ruled out any options in this regard, US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro reaffirmed Thursday.

The Jerusalem Post daily quoted him as telling US Jewish leaders meeting in Jerusalem that while diplomatic and economic sanctions were the preferred strategy to counter Iran's nuclear weapon drive, 'all other options are on the table.'

'More than that, the necessary planning is being done to ensure that those options are actually available if at any time they become necessary,' he warned.

He rejected reports of a rift between Israel and the US over Iran's alleged nuclear programme, telling his audience that 'whatever one reads in the paper, I cannot think of any issue on which we are better coordinated than on the issue of Iran.'

'It is often the case that those who talk don't know and those who know don't talk. Much of what is written on this topic is pure speculation and much of it is wrong,' he added.

Israeli President Shimon Peres, reinforced Shapiro's comments.

'The state of Israel is an independent, sovereign state, and has the right to defend itself. When we say all options are on the table, we really mean it,' he said.

The president also denied a report, which appeared in the Ha'aretz daily Thursday, that he planned to tell President Barack Obama that he opposed a possible Israeli attack on Iran.

The Ha'aretz report was attributed to 'political and diplomatic officials' who were familiar with Peres' positions and were helping prepare for the Obama meeting.

Peres, however, was quoted as saying Thursday evening that 'as far as I'm concerned, I've never told anybody in my life before a meeting with such a leader what I am going to tell him.'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders have repeatedly stated that the Jewish state should be wiped off the map.

Media reports have speculated that Israel intends to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, but Israeli leaders have never publicly threatened to do so.

Read more about Israel

Read more about US