Bush Blocked Israel Attack on Iran

Israel asked Washington for a green light to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities but was told no, reports the Guardian. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made the request in a private meeting with President Bush in May, but Bush feared air strikes over several days would lead to full-scale war and terrorist attacks in the US.

Israel would need to fly over US-controlled Iraqi airspace to launch the attack, which would imply White House approval of the offensive. An Olmert spokesman tacitly denied that the request had been made, but said "the need to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is raised at every meeting between the prime minister and foreign leaders.”
(More Iran stories.)