U.S. General in Talks with Israel over Iran

U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, arrived in Israel for a series of close talks with Israeli leaders amid an apparent disagreement as to how the two countries should respond to Iran’s nuclear program. During Dempsey’s first visit to Israel as chairman, he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the military chief of staff. Although Israeli leaders have remained silent about the details of the talks, Dempsey is expected to urge Israel not to rush to attack Iran while the U.S. trys to rally additional support through sanctions. Dempsey stated, at the beginning of his meeting with Barak, that the U.S. and Israel “have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time, and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we’ll all be.”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Russia and China to support new sanctions to force Iran into negotiations over its uranium enrichment program. Sarkozy said, “Time is running out. France will do everything to avoid a military intervention,” while following up with, “a military intervention will not solve the problem, but it will unleash war and chaos in the Middle East.”