Netanyahu Deputy Breaks With Prime Minister’s ‘Red-Line’ Views on Iran

Netanyahu is increasingly isolated in his pro-war views, even in his own cabinet

by John Glaser, September 14, 2012

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s deputy for intelligence and atomic affairs on Thursday broke with the Netanyahu’s call for Iran to be confronted with a “red line” which would prompt a military attack.

In an interview, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor appeared to side with the United States in rejecting at Netanyahu’s repeated for threatening Iran with an ultimatum about halting enrichment or facing war.

“I don’t want to set red lines or deadlines for myself,” he said before voicing support for the Obama administration’s posture of harsh economic sanctions coupled with negotiations.

“You always consider other options, for when everything else is exhausted. And I think that, for now, we have to continue with the pressure.”

Netanyahu’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, has also appeared to side with the American posture in recent days, praising aggressive US military build-ups around Iran as well as the sanctions as measure that could do away with the need for military action now.

Netanyahu is increasingly isolated in his pro-war views, both with his US allies and in his own cabinet. He has acknowledged that the US won’t back a strike now, but still has pushed forward his in argument for war.

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