The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
August 2, 2012

Panetta Tells Israel Military Force Remains Option on Iran 
-----------------------------------------------------------


 
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has wrapped up a visit to Israel with a
renewed vow to leave open the use of force against Iran. In a joint
public appearance on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu appeared to criticize the U.S. role in international talks
over Iran's nuclear program, saying diplomacy has failed. In response,
Panetta assured Netanyahu "all options" remain on the table.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "You yourself said a few
months ago that when all else fails, America will act but these
declarations have also not yet convinced the Iranians to stop their
program. However forceful your statements they have not convinced Iran
that we are serious about stopping them."

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta: "We will not allow Iran to develop a
nuclear weapon, period, we will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear
weapon and we will exert all options in the effort to ensure that that
does not happen."

 

.