WASHINGTON, June 11 (Sputnik) — Israeli and US officials have repeatedly said Iran cannot be allowed to gain nuclear military capability, and they are prepared to consider all options to prevent that from happening.
“The threat affects us differently because of our size and location, but we agree on the threat completely,” the unnamed senior official said on Wednesday.
“We agree on the strategic objective completely, which is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”
Speaking on background, the US official said the two countries have a “near identical” understanding of the threat Iran poses to the Middle East, the News report said.
“As we look at the world after the [P5+1 and Iran] negotiations,… we will work with Israel on strengthening security cooperation further.”
He added, “If additional elements need to be brought into that security agreement, we will talk together and figure those out.”
The Israelis live in the region, and have heard Iranian leaders threaten to wipe them off the map, the US official maintained.
“They are the ones who see Iranian proxies from multiple directions being armed and conducting terrorist activities or destabilizing neighbors, or shooting missiles at them…. We need to take that into account, and we do, and it frankly informed our decisions.”
General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs, is visiting Israel this week, his fifth visit since taking that position.
