Israel is being pressured not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities

Iran and its nuclear program remain in the headlines as increasing pressure is being brought on Israel not to make a preemptive strike against that country's nuclear weapons development facilities.  This despite the fact that Iran has said openly many times that it seeks the destruction of the Jewish State,

A senior Israeli diplomat is reported as saying that the US and Europe don't want to be taken by surprise.  According to the US government, an Israeli attack on Iran would need at least 100 warplanes and would be extremely complex and with no guarantee of destroying Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

The Israeli diplomat also said:"The United States is asking us to be patient and to wait and see if the international sanctions have the desired effect on the Iranian regime."

Israel has seen a steady flow of US officials over the past few weeks, all coming to assess the situation and to hold talks with political and military leaders.  The last visitor was National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, who had a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and another meeting with Ehud Barak, Israel's  Minister of Defense.  Barak is expected to travel to Washington sometime next week  after the planned visit by James Clapper, the Head of US Intelligence.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will be travelling to Washington at the beginning of March for talks with President Obama on the Iranian situation.