
(Ynet) — Fearing an uncoordinated Israeli attack against Iran, the United States is working on several levels to pressure the UN’s Security Council into imposing harsher sanctions on Iran, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.
A senior US State Department official said there was growing concern among Obama administration officials ahead of an IAEA report set to be published in November indicating considerable progress in Tehran’s development of its military nuclear program.
The US is concerned that the report may trigger Israeli actions against the Islamic Republic which may not necessarily be in line with US interests in the region.
The official said that Washington’s reevaluation of an Israeli strike in Iran is based on various maneuvers Israel has performed in the past few years.
The US administration is now bent on exercising more pressure on Tehran in order to dissuade Israel from this path, the source said.
Washington is therefore pressing China and Russia who are currently opposed to the publication of the IAEA report. The report may cause embarrassment to both countries who are strongly against harsher sanctions on Iran.
