Romney will support Israel’s unilateral strike on Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with US Republican presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, before a meeting at the premier's office in al-Quds (Jerusalem) on July 29, 2012

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/07/29/253331/romney-will-back-israel-attack-on-iran/

US presidential hopeful Mitt Romney will support Israel if Tel Aviv decides to launch a unilateral military attack against Iran's nuclear energy facilities, his senior campaign aide says.

"If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing the [nuclear] capability, the governor would respect that decision," Romney's senior national security aide Dan Senor told reporters on Sunday.

The US presidential candidate is meeting with top Israeli and Palestinian leaders today as part of a six-day international tour designed to shore up his foreign-policy credentials abroad and woo Jewish voters at home, Bloomberg reported.

“My message to...Israel and...Iran is one and the same: I will not look away, and neither will my country,” he will say according to excerpts of his speech released by the campaign.

This is while the Israeli daily Haaretz reported earlier on Sunday that US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon has informed Israel of Washington's ‘contingency plans’ for a possible attack on Iran, should the negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 fail.

During his visit to Israel two weeks ago, Donilon also shared information on US weaponry and military capabilities for dealing with Iran's nuclear facilities.

Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with a military strike to force it to halt its nuclear energy program, claimed by the duo to have been diverted towards military purposes.

But Iran has dismissed the allegations and the threats, pledging a crushing response to any attack on its soil.

US assures Israel of 'contingency plans' to attack Iran if talks fail

US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon

Source: Press TV

US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon has informed Israel of Washington's ‘contingency plans’ for a possible attack on Iran, should the negotiations between Tehran and the P5+1 fail, an Israeli paper says.

The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday that US President Barack Obama's national security adviser briefed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the plan during his visit to Tel Aviv two weeks ago.

Citing a senior American official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the report said Donilon has assured the Israeli premier that the US “is seriously preparing for the possibility that negotiations will reach a dead end and military action will become necessary.”

Donilon also shared information on US weaponry and military capabilities for dealing with Iran's nuclear facilities.

Last week, Secretary of US Air Force Michael Donley said the force’s new bunker buster bombs, each weighing 15 tons, were ready to be used in an attack.
According to the report, these bombs are intended for fortified bunkers.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has told EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton that the ‘stalled talks proved that the time had come to move from talk to action to stop Iran.’

However, Ashton, who is scheduled to meet Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council in the coming days, said she was still hopeful the standoff could be resolved diplomatically.

Washington and Tel Aviv have repeatedly threatened Tehran with a military strike to force it to halt its nuclear energy program, claimed by the duo to have been directed towards the acquisition of military nuclear capability.

But Iran has dismissed the allegations and the threats, pledging a crushing response to any attack on its soil.

Romney stripped of Iowa win after recount

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/222027.html

The Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has suffered a setback when the party stripped him of his victory in Iowa after a final tally of votes.

His rival, the socially conservative former senator Rick Santorum, emerged with the most votes, a majority of 34.

The party was scheduled to make an official announcement but the Des Moines Register reported its findings hours earlier.

The Register said the party was declaring the vote "unresolved" because there were "too many holes" in the certified totals to know the victor for certain, with the results from some precincts missing.

Romney said on Thursday the new tally showed it was "a virtual tie" between him and Santorum.

But it means that Romney can no longer claim to be the winner in Iowa. If another of his rivals, Newt Gingrich, wins the South Carolina primary on Saturday, this would mean they have one apiece: Romney the New Hampshire primary, held on 10 January, Gingrich South Carolina, and Santorum Iowa from 3 January. The race for the party nomination to take on Barack Obama in November would then be wide open. Guardian