Report: Netanyahu supported striking Iran
Published: April 21, 2011 at 7:41 AM
JERUSALEM, April 21 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was willing to join former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government if Israel initiated an attack on Iran, a report says.
The details of Netanyahu's stand appeared in a confidential cable sent by Marc J. Sievers, a political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, to the State Department in Washington in June 2007, a report released by WikiLeaks exclusively to Haaretz said.
The cable also dealt with the various options related to the forming of a new government and the possibility of forming a national unity government under Olmert's rule, the newspaper said.
At the time, Netanyahu was reportedly willing to accept the post of foreign minister in the event of a military strike on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
It was the second time Netanyahu said he was willing to support an Israeli prime minister in the event an attack was launched on Iran, the newspaper said noting that in December 2005, when then prime minister Ariel Sharon formed the Kadima party, Netanyahu said he would support him if he acted against Iran before the elections.
An additional document handed over by WikiLeaks to the Hebrew daily revealed concern by the United States about the Chinese company Zibo Chemet supplying vital equipment to Iran's chemical weapons program.
A cable drawn up by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009 instructed the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to take action against the Chinese company, Haaretz said.
"We have new information indicating that Zibo Chemet transferred technology for the production of glass-lined reactor equipment to Iranian customers, significantly enhancing Iran's ability to produce indigenously chemical equipment suitable for a chemical warfare program," Haaretz quoted the cable saying.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively pushed for a military strike on Iran, according to a report published in the Israeli newspaper  on Thursday.

A document revealed by Wikileaks, dated July 20, 2007, shows that Mr. Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party, urged an attack on Iran in exchange for joining the government at the time, led by Ehud Olmert.

Mr. Netanyahu's request was made as part of discussions to form a government of national unity between Likud and Mr. Olmert's Kadima party, according to the leaked cable, classified as "confidential" and penned by Marc. J. Sievers, who was at the US embassy in Tel Aviv as a political counselor.

An advisor to Mr. Netanyahu told American officials at the time that the Likud leader was willing to take the post of foreign minister, while Mr. Olmert would have become prime minister. 

However, Mr. Netanyahu demanded military action against Iran as the price for his participation in the proposed coalition. According to the advisor cited in the US cable, Mr. Netanyahu urged the Kadima leader to "galvanize Israel for action against Iran."

Israel has previously entertained the possibility of military strikes to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons capability. In November 2010, Iran announced uranium enrichment activities had been disrupted by the  computer virus. The Iranian government later accused the US and Israel of responsibility for the malware.

Israel and Western powers have accused Iran, whose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program.


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