February 24, 2007 11:42 a.m. EST

Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Correspondent
London, England (AHN) - A report published by British publication The Daily Telegraph newspaper on Saturday said it had received reliable information that Israel has asked Washington's permission to use Iraqi airspace to launch its fighter jets and attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Correspondent

London, England (AHN) - A report published by British publication The Daily Telegraph newspaper on Saturday said it had received reliable information that Israel has asked Washington's permission to use Iraqi airspace to launch its fighter jets and attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

The report quoted a senior Israeli defense official saying that officials from Washington and Tel Aviv are currently discussing plans to provide an "air corridor" over Iraq for Israeli warplanes should it decide to launch military offensive against Tehran.

The official was quoted as saying, "We are planning for every eventuality, and sorting out issues such as these are crucial. If we don't sort these issues out we could have a situation where American and Israeli war planes start shooting at each other."

The report came as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday told reporters in Australia that the U.S. has not ruled out the possibility of taking military action against Iran, saying that "all options are still on the table" over Tehran's nuclear programs.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard in Sydney, Cheney said Washington is still working with other countries to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear programs and prefers to achieve the goal peacefully.

Cheney declared, "But all options are still on the table."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map.

On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Tehran's continued defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand to stop its uranium enrichment program this week. In fact, the IAEA said Iran expanded its program instead of stopping.

The U.S. France and Britain have been calling for tougher Security Council sanctions against Tehran, while the other permanent member of the Council namely, Germany, China and Russia wants to resolve the issue through diplomatic means.

Iran has persistently deny accusations its wants to develop nuclear weapons and insisted its nuclear program was pure for peaceful means only.

But an Israeli officer involved in the military planning told The Daily Telegraph, "One of the last issues we have to sort out is how we actually get to the targets in Iran. The only way to do this is to fly through U.S.-controlled air space in Iraq."

A senior Israeli security official who works on the strategic committee set up to deal with the Iran threat, chaired by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said, "The amount of effort we are putting into this single issue is unprecedented in the history of the State of Israel," the newspaper reported.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006562755

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