US ’rejected’ Israeli plea to raid Iran

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Israel's request was for specialized bunker-busting bombs that it wanted for an attack that tentatively involved flying over Iraq to reach Iran's major nuclear complex at Natanz, where the country's only known uranium enrichment plan is located, the Times reported Saturday in its online edition. The White House deflected requests for the bombs and flyover but said it would improve intelligence-sharing with Israel on covert U.S. efforts to sabotage Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli government officials declined comment on the report. A U.S. official told Reuters in September that the Pentagon had refused an Israeli request for unspecified "offensive" items that could be used on Iran. To reassure the Israelis, Washington instead gave them advanced radars for spotting missile launches.

The covert efforts, which began in early 2008, involved plans to penetrate Iran's nuclear supply chain abroad and undermine electrical systems and other networks on which Iran relies, the Times said, citing interviews with current and former U.S. officials, outside experts and international nuclear inspectors who spoke on condition of anonymity. The covert program will be handed off to President-elect Barack Obama, who will deciding whether to continue it, reported The Associated Press.

Israel made the push for permission to fly over Iraq for an attack on Iran following its anger over a U.S. intelligence assessment in late 2007 that concluded Iran had effectively suspended its development of nuclear weapons four years earlier. Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council, declined to comment Saturday.