Israel’s allies will not oppose a retaliatory strike against Iran, said the country’s top strategic negotiator with the United States. “If Israel is attacked by missiles, we will not fold our arms and our allies will not be opposed,” Shaul Mofaz said Monday.
Mofaz, Israel’s transportation minister, is in Washington this week to lead the latest round in the strategic dialogue with the United States.
He emphasized that the current strategy to contain Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program is diplomatic pressure and said enhancing sanctions would be a focus of his talks Tuesday with the U.S. team led by Eliot Cohen, the State Department counselor.
U.S. sanctions targeting Iranian banks have been effective, Mofaz said, although they have not killed the nuclear program. Mofaz also said he opposed returning the Golan Heights to Syria, striking a contradictory note to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s hints that he would contemplate such a concession for peace. Returning the strategic plateau, Mofaz said, would bring Syria’s Iranian allies to the Golan.
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