Israel and Iran played down war option

The Israeli government denies any intention to launch military attacks against Iran at this stage, saying that it supports international sanctions

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday played down speculation that Israel intended to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, saying it had not decided to embark on any military operation.
"War is not a picnic. We want a picnic. We don't want a war," Barak told Israel Radio ahead of the release this week of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran's nuclear activity.
"(Israel) had not yet decided to embark on any operation," he said, dismissing Israeli media speculation that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had chosen that option.
He added that Israel is supporting the international community to put more sanctions on Iran in order to halt its nuclear programme and was also calling on all international partners not to exclude any options in dealing with Iran, including the military option.
Several Israel media reports claimed that Israel is planning to launch an attack against Iranian nuclear programme in the coming months.
Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the Israeli reports were just rumours.
"We have repeatedly said that our country's defensive capability, whether at sea, by missile, or underwater, is very high and up-to-date and we have the might to fend off any threats," the ISNA news agency quoted Vahidi as saying.
"Rather, the recent threats against Iran are media clamour, and I believe it derives from the West's weakness against Iran. In my opinion, they are the last groans of a dying movement of oppression out of which the Zionist regime (Israel) was born."
Vahidi said the threats, circulating in the Israeli press, came at a time when Israel and the United States were confronting domestic problems.
"In any case, Western threats are not important and we are ready to give a powerful response to any ignorant (action) by the enemies."