MOSCOW — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday his
country is not planning a war with Iran and that Tehran’s concerns over
such a conflict are the result of the threat of additional international
sanctions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday he
believes Israel or its allies are considering a military strike against
his country, which has thus far failed to prove that its nuclear program
is peaceful.
“We are not planning any wars,” Netanyahu said,
speaking in Moscow after meetings urging Russian officials to approve
tougher sanctions against Iran.
In Tehran, Ahmadinejad said Israel
is “seeking to start a war next spring or summer, although their
decision is not final yet,” without saying where he got that
information.
Netanyahu dismissed that talk as “manipulations.”
“I
wouldn’t be surprised if the things we are hearing are a result of
Iran’s feeling there is an increase in talks about sanctions,” he said.
Israel
has been at the forefront of calling for crippling sanctions against
Iran because of its nuclear program.
Israel, like the U.S. and
much of the international community, believes Iran’s program is aimed at
developing a nuclear bomb, which Iran denies. While Israel says it
hopes diplomacy will resolve the nuclear standoff, … >>>
