No agreement on red lines between Obama and Netanyahu

From statements made by American and Israeli senior officials and from the investigations and leaks of Zionist newspapers, conclusions can be drawn after the talks between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington. In brief, Israel made sure that Netanyahu's visit to the United States did not settle the dispute between the two parties over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear programme file, and particularly over how to set the red lines Iran should not cross, unless it wants America to wage a war against it. Also, Washington and Tel Aviv remain divided regarding the "price" of Israel's abstention from attacking Iran. Israel's resentment after the talks held in Washington was expressed through Netanyahu's national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, when he said: "It is wrong to wait until Israel loses control over the effective and unilateral acting to defend itself and becomes dependent on US president's decision". Haaretz newspaper reported that Netanyahu has asked one central question:"What is the cost of holding back from acting against Iran?" Obama, seemingly, refused to set the price which led Netanyahu to say that any missile attack launched by Tehran against Tel Aviv in response to an Israeli strike against its nuclear facilities would be limited and can be absorbed, compared to the consequences of Iran's possessing nuclear weapons abilities. Meanwhile, Maariv newspaper revealed the price which might be achieved by both parties. The newspaper quoted high-level western diplomatic and intelligence sources as saying that the US administration proposed to Netanyahu, during his visit to the United States, a "package deal" under which Israel undertakes to refrain from launching a military attack on Iranian nuclear facilities this year, postponing the action to next year. America will provide Israel with new bombs which deeply penetrate existing fortifications underground as well as private planes to promote fighter jets with necessary fuel while flying in the air to cut long distances. The sources added that the US president implied for Netanyahu that it will seriously consider Israel's military strike against Iran without prior coordination with Washington and that this would entail serious consequences regarding the Middle East as a whole, as well as the relations and mutual trust between Israel and America. Moreover, Obama believes there is the possibility of a diplomatic solution for the Iranian nuclear issue, confirming that the heads of both US and Israeli intelligence services share the same view. Hence, nobody is allowed to take any decision to launch a military attack on Iran within the next few days. Meanwhile, Obama noted that he intends to push forward to impose heavier sanctions against Iran soon, including the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), while keeping the negotiation doors open in case any of its leaders would like to solve the problem by diplomatic means. Following Obama's remarks, a senior source of US administration told Yediot Ahronot newspaper that the US president will not be able to stop the Israeli prime minister from launching a military attack against Iran; however what he said is seen as a red line for Netanyahu. The same source added that both sides' stances became very clear now. The US president firmly opposes the launch of a military attack on Iran and in case Netanyahu ventured, in spite of that, and launched an attack, it would be considered as a step against the US administration as well. The same newspaper reported that a senior US security source explained Netanyahu's threat of attacking Iran by saying that Ahmadinejad is a modern Hitler who threatens the repetition of the Holocaust, so allowing Israel to plan a military attack against his country. On the other hand, when all the alternative options fail, the US will act against Iran, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committees (AIPAC) conference, saying that the US wanted diplomacy to work. Panetta added that US will resort to the military option against Iran only if all the other options fail, as “our policy ultimately aims at preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons”. Meanwhile, Maariv newspaper quoted a senior Israeli source in Washington as saying that Netanyahu convinced Obama of the necessity to shorten the duration of the schedule regarding the exhaustion of diplomatic means towards Iran, stressing that it would lead to reduce the gaps between the two countries regarding the time for a military solution. What about economic sanctions? Haaretz stated that Netanyahu expressed the futility of applying economic sanctions, as well as the inability of diplomatic and political means to resolve the Iranian issue, during the meetings held in Washington with senior officials from the US administration and the Congress and leaders of the Republican Party. Haaretz and other Israeli newspapers confirmed that Netanyahu's visit to the United States and his meeting with the president Obama did not lead to ease the differences between the two countries regarding the expected results to launch a military attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. How did Iran receive the results of Obama-Netanyahu meeting? In a rare move, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei welcomed what he called the US president's defense for the diplomatic option for settling the nuclear issue. However, he said: "Obama talked about subjugating Iranians through sanctions, which shows his continuation in his illusions in this matter". It is clear from the above mentioned statements that the crisis of the relationship between the three parties is still the same and that the red lines are still in place.