No plan to hit Iran's nuclear program: Israel

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Israel has denied a British newspaper's report that its pilots are training to strike targets in Iran with low-yield nuclear weapons However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev added this about the Sunday Times report: "If diplomacy succeeds, the problem can be solved peaceably." Zeev Boim, an Israeli cabinet minister, said: "We'll support the international community in its efforts to stop Iran's nuclear plans." The Sunday Times claimed that Israel has plans to attack nuclear facilities in Iran because it fears that country could be developing nuclear weapons. The newspaper said Israeli pilots have flown round trips to the British colony of Gibraltar to train for such a possible mission. Iran has insisted its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes. However, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," leading to heightened fears about what could happen if his country should develop nuclear weapons. The U.N. Security Council has demanded a moratorium on uranium enrichment by Iran, even imposing some economic sanctions recently. On a talk radio show that Menashe Amir broadcasts from Jerusalem into Iran via shortwave radio, the newspaper's claim was the story of the day -- Israel denials not withstanding. "There is no doubt the Israeli air force is always preparing proper programs and plans to do the job," he told CTV News. Israel doesn't officially admit to having nuclear weapons, but it is widely believed to have an arsenal. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made a slip last fall that appeared to confirm it does. In 1986, the Sunday Times reported on Israel's nuclear program based on the revelations of Mordechai Vanunu, who had been a technician at a secret Israeli nuclear facility. Vanunu served an 18-year prison sentence over his actions. The tiny Jewish nation has conducted pre-emptive strike before when it considered its national security to be under a grave threat. In 1981, it conducted a conventional bombing raid on an Iraqi nuclear reactor under construction at Osirak. Several months ago, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu described a nuclear-armed Iran as "an outcome the world cannot tolerate." Asked if that meant the military option, Netanyahu said, "It leaves whatever options are necessary to make sure this doesn't happen." The story said such an attack would be carried out only as a last resort. The Bush administration has not ruled out the use of force to deal with a possible nuclear threat from Iran, but it has said the priority is to reach a diplomatic solution. Reuven Pedatzur, a prominent Israeli defence analyst, told the Associated Press: "It is possible that this was a leak done on purpose, as deterrence, to say: 'Someone better hold us back, before we do something crazy.'" The news didn't appear to intimidate Iran. The country's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a news conference that "any measure against Iran will not be left without a response and the invader will regret its act immediately."