JUST IN: 'Iran strike inevitable' Netanyahu says US has forfeited right to stop Israel attacking Iran

JERUSALEM // The United States forfeited its moral right to stop Israel taking action against Iran's nuclear programme because Washington had refused to be firm with Tehran, the Israeli prime minister said yesterday.

In comments which appeared to bring the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran closer, Benjamin Netanyahu took the US administration to task after Washington rebuffed his own call to set a red line for Tehran's nuclear drive.

"The world tells Israel 'wait, there's still time'. And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?'" said Mr Netanyahu, speaking in English. "Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel."

Mr Netanyahu has been pushing Barack Obama, the US president, to adopt a tougher line against Iran, arguing that setting a clear boundary for Iran's uranium enrichment activities and imposing stronger economic sanctions could deter Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and mitigate the need for military action.

On Monday, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said the US would not set a deadline in further talks with Iran, saying there was still time for diplomacy to work.

Meanwhile, an Israeli cabinet minister yesterday invoked his country's ostensibly secret 2007 air raid on an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor to suggest Israel could successfully strike Iran without US support.

Mr Netanyahu's comments came as diplomats said six world powers, including the US, were poised to voice "serious concern" about Iran's uranium enrichment programme and to urge Tehran to open up access to suspected nuclear sites.

[link to www.thenational.ae]