Netanyahu wants silence on Iran

Ynetnews -- The quiet before the storm? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his ministers to keep mum on the Iran threat ahead of his upcoming meeting with US President Barack Obama, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

On Thursday, Netanyahu instructed all government ministers to refrain from submitting to interviews on the Iran issue, unless they receive a special permit in advance.

The PM made it clear that the plethora of recent statements on the issue by Israeli officials and former government members is highly dangerous and ordered them to put an end to it at once.

"We must stop this chatter. It causes damage," Netanyahu said. "We should not be providing too much information on this issue."

Meanwhile, the prime minister's associates are engaging in contacts vis-à-vis the White House, aimed at drafting a joint Israeli-American declaration on Iran, to be issued in the wake of the Obama-Netanyahu meeting March 5th.

Netanyahu wants the statement to include an American declaration that Washington will further tighten the sanctions against Tehran.

US officials are said to be considering Israel's request, but would go ahead with it only on condition that they manage to convince Israel's PM to postpone the option of a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. For the Americans, the upcoming summit reportedly has only one main aim: Receiving a Netanyahu pledge that Israel will not be striking Iran in the near future.