Israel discussing Iran "red line" with U.S.

Israel and the United States are in discussion on setting a "red line" for Iran's nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.               

"We're discussing it right now with the United States," Netanyahu said in an interview with Canada's CBC television aired late on Sunday.              

In the interview, two days after Canada suspended diplomatic relations with Tehran over its nuclear project, Netanyahu again signaled that a clear boundary - which he has yet to define publicly - could obviate the need for military action.           

Netanyahu's recent calls for world powers to set a "clear red line" that would show they were determined to stop Tehran's nuclear drive has suggested a growing impatience with the United States, Israel's main ally.            

Recent heightened Israeli rhetoric has stoked speculation that Israel might attack Iran before the U.S. elections in November, believing that President Barack Obama would give it military help and not risk alienating pro-Israeli voters.            

Israel and the West believe Iran is working toward nuclear weapon development capability.

Israel, widely thought to be the Middle East's only atomic power, says a nuclear-armed Iran would be a threat to its existence. The Islamic Republic says its nuclear work is for peaceful energy purposes only.               

Netanyahu, who met Westerwelle on Sunday in Jerusalem, is scheduled to travel to the New York and address the U.N. General assembly about Iran later this month. 


REUTERS