Washington - President George W Bush turned down a request
by Israel last year for special bunker-busting bombs and other aid to
attack Iran's nuclear programme, while the US instead initiated
covert action aimed at slowing Tehran's nuclear advances, the New
York Times reported Sunday.
In an article quoting unnamed US intelligence and administration
officials, the Times reported that Israel had secretly asked the US
for the bombs, refuelling equipment and permission to fly over Iraqi
airspace. Bush flatly denied the request to cross over Iraq and
effectively ignored the other requests.
The US instead started in early 2008 covertly penetrating the
nuclear supply chain and using other efforts to undermine Iran's
programme, the report said. Bush had also been briefed on options for
overt attacks on Iranian facilities, but never moved beyond
contingency plans, despite suggestions by some during his presidency
that he was planning to attack Iran, the Times said.
The Israeli request apparently came in response to a US report
published in 2007 that said Iran had suspended its alleged efforts to
achieve a nuclear weapon, a conclusion Israel and many in the US
rejected. It was unclear whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was
actually developing a strike plan or was simply trying to push
Washington into further action, the report said.
Iran insists its nuclear programmes are solely for peaceful
purposes and says the country is pursuing a civilian nuclear
programme, including enrichment, as its legitimate right in line with
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The West, however, suspects Iran might use the same technology for
a secret military programme and become a threat to the Middle East
and the Persian Gulf region.
USA
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