Hagel says Iran sanctions need to be exhausted first

USA Today

TEL AVIV -- Economic sanctions and diplomacy must be exhausted before the United States and Israel contemplate any military action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said here Monday.

Hagel appeared in the capital with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon to announce an agreement to sell Israel weapons, including advanced missiles and refueling planes that could be used to support a strike on Iran. The missiles are designed to destroy air-defense systems, and refueling aircraft would allow warplanes to continue attacks without returning to Israel.

Hagel and Yaalon downplayed the estimates U.S. and Israeli officials have for Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. Israel believes the time frame is somewhat shorter than U.S. estimates and reserves the right to strike pre-emptively. That right was affirmed by Hagel in comments he made Sunday to reporters traveling with him to the Middle East.

Any disagreements between the two nations on the timing of Iran's nuclear capability, Hagel said, were "minor," adding that "intelligence agencies always are within ranges" on their estimates.

The bottom line, Yaalon said, is that Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions will be stopped.

"There are other tools to be used and to be exhausted, whether it be diplomacy, economic sanctions or even more support of the opposition in Iran," Yaalon said.

Selling Israel the KC-135 refueling tankers represents a significant change in U.S. policy. The Obama and George W. Bush administrations had previously prohibited such sales because it would have given Israeli aircraft the ability to fly the distance needed to reach Iran.

The United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, which passed Congress and was signed by President Obama last July authorized tanker sales to Israel, as well as missile defense materials and specialized munitions.

Hagel also spent more than an hour by helicopter touring Israel's borders, including its frontier with Syria where a civil war has killed tens of thousands. Last week, officials in Great Britain and France allege that the government of Bashar Asaad may have used chemical weapons and have asked the United Nations to investigate. Hagel said U.S. intelligence agencies have yet to determine if chemical weapons were used.

Hagel reiterated Monday that Assad's use of chemical weapons would be a "game changer." The United States is prepared to deal with such a contingency, though he declined to say what the Pentagon's response would be.

Hagel will also visit Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates on his first trip to the Mideast as Pentagon chief.