[Iran Press TV Latest] Top US commander in the Middle East, General David Petraeus says Israel might choose to attack Iran as a move to halt its nuclear program. "The Israeli government may ultimately see itself so threatened by the prospect of an Iranian nuclear weapon that it would take preemptive military action to derail or delay it," Petraeus told the US Congress on Wednesday.
The head of the US Central Command also accused Iran of failing "to provide the assurances and transparency necessary for international acceptance and verification" of the peaceful nature of its program.
Tehran's "obstinacy and obfuscation have forced Iran's neighbors and the international community to conclude the worst about the regime's intention," Bloomberg quoted Petraeus as telling the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Ken Katzman, a Middle East military analyst for the non- partisan Congressional Research Service in Washington, said Petraeus' remarks about a prospective Israeli attack against Iran "was extremely significant, particularly for what he did not say -- that the United States would act to restrain Israel or talk it out of conducting such a strike."
Israel, which is believed to possess the Middle East's only nuclear arsenals, accuses Iran of trying to develop nuclear arms.
Tehran however says its nuclear program is only aimed at meeting the country's energy needs.