Good Decision - Romney backs Israel if needs to strike Iran: aide says

U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann arrive in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 28, 2012. REUTERS photo

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would back Israel if it were to decide it had to use military force to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a senior aide said on Sunday.

"If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision," Romney's senior national security aide Dan Senor told reporters travelling with the candidate.

The comment made ahead of Romney's planned meetings in Jerusalem with Israeli leaders seemed to differ with attempts by President Barack Obama to convince Israel to avoid any preemptive attack and let a regimen of international sanctions squeeze Iran's economy until it agrees to nuclear concessions.

Romney arrived late on Saturday on the second-leg of a foreign trip aimed at bolstering his foreign policy credentials in his race to unseat Obama in the Nov. 6 presidential election.

The trip has had difficulties from the start, when he angered the British by questioning whether London was ready for the Olympics, a statement he was forced to walk back after a rebuke from Prime Minister David Cameron. Romney hoped for a smoother trip in Israel even though the region's politics are fraught with peril. Senor told reporters that Romney believed the threat from Iran was approaching on a path involving two timelines. The first was Iran's drive - denied by Tehran - to develop a nuclear weapons capability, and the second was having the ability to penetrate Iran's defences before they were hardened in such a way to protect against a strike, Senor said.

In excepts of a speech Romney was to deliver on Monday evening, the former Massachusetts governor planned to say that an aggressive approach to Tehran was needed to protect against a threat to the very existence of Israel, the closest U.S. ally in the turbulent Middle East.

"When Iran's leaders deny the Holocaust or speak of wiping this nation off the map, only the naïve - or worse - will dismiss it as an excess of rhetoric," he would say.

"Make no mistake: the ayatollahs in Tehran are testing our moral defences. They want to know who will object, and who will look the other way."

Barak: Nuclear Iran far more dangerous than preemptive Israeli strike

Speaking during a lecture at the IDF's National Security College, Defense Minister hints Israel may attack Iran if sanctions against Tehran's nuclear program fail.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak hinted Wednesday that Israel may attack Iran if sanctions fail to rein in Tehran's nuclear program.

Speaking during a lecture at the IDF's National Security College, Barak said Israel might have to make "tough and crucial decisions" about its security.

"I am well aware of the difficulties involved in thwarting Iran's attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon," Barak said. "However, it is clear to me that without a doubt, dealing with the threat itself will be far more complicated, far more dangerous and far more costly in resources and human life."

Barak said that the events of the Arab Spring, which he said slowly turned into the "Islamic Summer", teach that at the moment of truth, Israel can only rely on itself.

Earlier Wednesday,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, voiced confidence that the Islamic Republic can beat the latest punitive measures aimed at blocking the country's vital oil and banking industries over the disputed program.

"They (the West) explicitly say they need to increase pressures, tighten sanctions to force Iranian authorities to reconsider their calculations," Khamenei said in comments broadcast on state television. "But a look at the facts leads us not only to avoid reconsidering our calculations, but to move on our intended path with greater confidence."

The latest European Union sanctions against Iran's vital oil industry came into effect on July 1, three days after the U.S. ¬tightened measures that prohibit international banks from completing oil transactions with Iranian banks. The moves, a response to Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, further complicate the country's ability to conduct trade abroad.

The West suspects Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes such as power generation and medical treatment.

In his remarks, Khamenei said he felt some countries partaking in the U.S.-led sanctions will not continue them over the long term because of economic drawbacks, calling the sanctions a challenge that could be overcome.

"Although there are challenges in the path of the Iranian nation, there is no dead-end," he said.

Khamenei said Iran has offered some concessions in the past, but claimed the West is unwilling to allow what Iran calls a peaceful nuclear program.

He was referring to a period between 2003 and 2005 when Iran agreed under former reformist president Mohammad Khatami to suspend uranium enrichment and all related activities as part of confidence building measures to dispel fears that Tehran was not seeking nuclear weapons.

"The West became so arrogant during that period that they opposed possession of three centrifuges which our officials had agreed. But now there are 11,000 centrifuges operating in the country," he said.

Centrifuges are machines that spin at supersonic speed to purify uranium. Uranium enriched to low level is used to fuel a nuclear reactor but higher enrichment makes it suitable for use in building a nuclear weapon.

Iran's suspension of nuclear advancements coincided with a period of small steps toward easing the diplomatic freeze between Tehran and Washington, but tensions quickly returned following the election in 2005 of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and moves to restart Iran's nuclear efforts.