Ex-CIA officer: Israel likely to attack Iran in September

Robert Baer tells LA KPFK radio that strike on Tehran likely to happen before vote on Palestinian state, that PM wants US to be involved.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

JULY 16, 2011 13:04

Natanz nuclear facility_311 reuters (photo credit: STR New / Reuters) — Natanz nuclear facility_311 reuters

(photo credit: STR New / Reuters)

Israel will probably attack Iran in September, a former CIA officer who spent 21 years in the Middle East, including in Lebanon and Syria, has told a Los Angeles radio show.

While Robert Baer didn’t reveal the sources behind his prediction, he referred to former Mossad chief Meir Dagan’s warnings of an Israeli attack on Iran as “no bluff.”RELATED:Dagan: Israeli airstrike on Iran nuclear plant 'foolish'The September Conundrum (premium)Barak: Dagan jeopardized Israeli deterrence against Iran

Baer told the KPFK Radio on Tuesday recent comments made by Dagan that an Israeli attack on Iran could lead to a regional war, “tell us with near certainty that [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu is planning an attack, and in as much as I can guess when it’s going to be, it’s probably going to be in September, before a [UN General Assembly] vote on the Palestinian state.”

Netanyahu is “also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict – and in fact, there’s a warning order inside the Pentagon to prepare for conflict with Iran,” Baer said.

The retired senior CIA officer predicted that Israel would attack the Natanz nuclear facility, as well as “a couple of others to degrade their capabilities.”

“The Iranians will strike back where they can, and that will be in Basra and in Baghdad,” where the US has a reduced troop presence, Baer said.

“We’ve started to look at Iran’s targets in Iraq and across the border,” he said.

Baer, however, said a regional war was unlikely.

“What we’re facing here is an escalation, not a planned all-out war,” he said.

There was no response from the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.