UPDATE: White House: Obama didn’t discuss bunker busters with Netanyahu
(JTA) — President Obama promised Israel bunker-buster bombs and other weaponry that could help it strike Iran on the condition it not act this year, an Israeli newspaper reported.
Obama made the offer during his meeting this week in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli daily Maariv reported. Among the weapons promised were airborne refueling tankers, which could help Israeli fighter jets make it to Iran and back.
The Israeli and U.S. governments disagree on the "red line" beyond which Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program cannot be allowed to cross. The United States says it will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, while Israel maintains that Iran must be stopped from acquiring the capability to manufacture weapons.
Nuclear facilities in Iran are said to be dispersed and protected underground to make it difficult for airstrikes to eliminate its nuclear cache without deep-penetration bombs.
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