'US rejected Israeli bid to strike Iran'

'NY Times': Bush deflected secret Israeli requests to obtain bunker-busters, fly over Iraqi territory.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Natanz 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Natanz 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
US President George Bush deflected a secret request by Israel last year for bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran's main nuclear complex, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Bush also rejected a request to fly over Iraq to reach Iran's major nuclear complex at Natanz, where the country's only known uranium enrichment plant is located. According to the report, Bush told Israel he had authorized new covert action intended to sabotage Iran's suspected effort to develop nuclear weapons, according to senior US and foreign officials. The tense exchanges with Israeli officials prompted the White House to step up intelligence-sharing with Israel and brief officials on new US efforts to sabotage Iran's nuclear infrastructure.