'Netanyahu seeks US bombs for Iran attack'

Press TV



As Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans a visit to Washington, a report says he will ask the US to release sophisticated bombs needed for a possible strike on Iran's nuclear sites.



Netanyahu will ask Israel's closest ally to supply sophisticated 'bunker-buster' bombs needed to break through to Iran's nuclear enrichment sites, the Sunday Times reported.



The Israeli premier is expected to attend a three-day meeting of the top pro-Israeli lobby in the US, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly known as AIPAC and to meet with senior administration officials.





Despite Tel Aviv's refusal to renounce nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, Israel and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian program - a charge strongly denied by Tehran.



Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), views the claims as "unfounded and baseless" as the non-diversion of Iranian nuclear materials has been repeatedly verified in unannounced visits by UN inspectors.



Israel, reported to have the region's sole atomic arsenal, has a long-standing tendency to bomb Iran's nuclear sites, arguing that the country is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.



Plans for a military attack against Iran have gained momentum in Tel Aviv over the past few months.



On November 7, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned Iran that Tel Aviv's persistent threats of military action were not just a bluff.



Meanwhile, the Sunday Herald has reported that hundreds of powerful US "bunker-buster" bombs are being shipped from California to the British island of Diego Garcia located in the Indian Ocean.



Experts believe that the cargo manifest from the US navy is being put in place for an assault on Iran's nuclear facilities, said the newspaper.



The US military used Diego Garcia as a base to attack Iraq in 1991 and 2003.



The developments come as US president Barack Obama on Saturday once again repeated his offer of "dialogue" with Tehran.



Iran says it is hypocritical of the US to call for normalization of ties with the country but does the opposite in practice.



The new [US] administration and president ... wrote letters and sent messages ... saying they are willing to normalize relations with the Islamic Republic, but in practice they did the opposite," Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Sunday in a Nowruz address to Iranians in the holy city of Mashhad.