BICOM

According to a report in Maariv this morning quoting a diplomatic source, the US would support Israel if Jerusalem were to take military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

According to the report, Washington would provide Israel with an air defence ‘umbrella’ against anticipated retaliation by Tehran’s proxies — notably Hezbollah — in the event of a strike. There is no indication from the report if the US would engage in offensive military action against Iran.

The report adds that messages passed from Republican and Democrat policy makers in Washington to their Israeli counterparts suggest that should Israel decide to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities before US presidential elections in November, President Barack Obama would order US armed forces to join in the military effort. Such an intervention, the sources in Maariv explained, would all but guarantee Obama a second term in office. If he chose not to act, the President would likely be handing the office over to the Republicans, the sources in Maariv said.

Advisers close to Republican candidate Mitt Romney and Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren were among those who passed the messages between Washington and Jerusalem, Maariv claimed in their report.

Obama is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a UN summit in September, in what could be a meeting that determines whether or not Israel takes unilateral action against Iran.

The Israeli embassy in Washington declined to respond to the Maariv report.