BICOM

Foreign Secretary William Hague said yesterday that economic sanctions and talks are the best way to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear programme. In an interview with the BBC, Hague added that Israel would not be “wise” to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, saying it should give the diplomatic route a chance to succeed. “I don’t think the wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran,” Hague said.  “I think Israel, like everybody else in the world, should be giving a real chance to the approach that we have adopted, of very serious economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate with Iran. And that’s what we now have to make a success of.”

Hague’s comments came the same day that CNN aired an interview with the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, who said an Israeli attack on Iran would be “destabilising” and would not achieve Israel’s long-term objectives.

Amid US concerns that Israel may initiate military action against Iran’s nuclear sites, White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. Following the meeting, neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the US issued a statement, and Netanyahu said nothing about it or the Iranian nuclear programme at a speech he delivered shortly after.

Donilon yesterday also met with Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, his Israeli counterpart. He is scheduled to meet Defence Minister Ehud Barak today before returning to Washington.