Friday, March 30, 2012

Israel 'does Azerbaijan airbase deal' in plan to attack Iran

Americans may have leaked news in effort to stop Israelis carrying out their threats

Donald Macintyre
The Independent

"Israel's military may have negotiated access to strategically placed air bases in Azerbaijan that could be used in an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, US officials have said.

The unconfirmed report in Foreign Policy magazine suggested deepening co-operation between Israel and the Caucasian republic, which shares a border with Iran. It said that Israel and Azerbaijan secured a $1.6bn arms deal in February, which included the pledged sale of drones and anti-aircraft missile systems to Baku.....

Apparently reflecting this Israeli government discomfort, the veteran military commentator Ron Ben-Yishai speculated in the Yedhiot Ahronot newspaper that the US was leaking information to the media with the specific purpose of averting an Israeli strike on Iran. "The flood of reports in the American media in recent weeks attests not only to the genuine US fear that Israel intends to realise its threats; moreover, it indicates that the Obama administration has decided to take its gloves off," he wrote....."

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