Obama Advisor Asks Israel Not to Strike Iran

Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama, advised Israel in a televised interview not to attack Iran. 

While acknowledging Israel’s independent right to self-defense, Rhodes–who rose inexplicably from speechwriter to the highest levels of foreign and military policy–told Israel’s Channel 10 that an Israeli military strike against Iran might in fact encourage the regime to develop nuclear weapons.

“Our case to Israel will be: Let’s give the negotiations a chance to succeed. A military strike has no guarantee of eliminating the nuclear infrastructure or what they [the Iranians] already know how to do, and could incentivize them to break out,” he said, according to the Times of Israel. 

Rhodes added that he did not think it would be likely that Iran would have to give up all nuclear enrichment, as Libya did, in a final agreement.