Netanyahu asks US for military threat to Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday (November 7) that only a credible military threat can deter Iran from building a nuclear weapon, media reports said. In comments signaling growing Israeli impatience with diplomacy, the sources said Netanyahu, beginning a five-day US visit, argued that economic sanctions have failed to persuade Iran to stop its nuclear program. However, Biden said after the talks that the sanctions were having a measurable impact, though he expressed frustration that Tehran had brushed aside overtures by President Barack Obama's administration. Netanyahu and Biden met on the sidelines of an American Jewish conference in New Orleans, and also discussed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks suspended in a dispute over building in settlements in the West Bank. The tough talk from the Israelis swiftly raised speculation in Israeli media that Netanyahu, who has rebuffed U.S. and international calls to re-impose a freeze on building in West Bank settlements, was trying to shift the focus of his visit away from stalemate. The West believes that Iran aims to use its uranium enrichment program to build atomic weapons, and both Israel and the United States have said all options are on the table in dealing with its nuclear ambitions. But Netanyahu had made clear that Israel wanted to see if tough economic sanctions could eliminate what it has described as a threat against its existence. Tehran denies it is out to produce nuclear arms.