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The Israeli-Sunni Coalition Against Iran

Is there a quiet coalition among the Gulf states and Israel to thwart a possible thaw in US-Europe-Iran ties?
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem September 17, 2013. Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on September 30, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, for talks expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13O85

"What Iran wants is to reach Japan or Germany's capability," a high-ranking Israeli diplomatic official who is actively involved in Israel's most sensitive decision-making told me earlier this week. I asked him to elaborate.

"Japan and Germany can assemble a nuclear bomb. They have the scientific, technical and logistical infrastructure. They're not interested in that. But if they were, they would need five to seven weeks to do it, were such a decision made. That's where Iran wants to be, and that's where it is going to be very shortly, unless the West comes around and understands that it is playing for time."

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