Israeli politicians slam US for lack of will to attack Iran

(PRESS TV) -- Israeli War Minister Ehud Barak and his US counterpart Robert Gates have discussed Iran's nuclear standoff with the West in the Pentagon.

The talks, which took place on Tuesday, were mainly focused on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Barak's office confirmed that the minister had spoken with Gates about the necessity of a multilayered missile defense system for Israel. The two were joined by senior officials for the first half hour of their meeting and later continued in private for an additional 40 minutes.

Meanwhile members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee who are also in Washington openly express their dissatisfaction with the lack of a plan by the US to confront Iran over its nuclear program.

After meeting with leading officials at the US Department of State and the US National Security Council, members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee expressed their dissatisfaction about the fact that Washington has not a plan to attack Iran.

MK Avigdor Itzchaky said that he saw no inclination on the part of the Americans to resolve the issue, adding that they view the case as Israel's problem. He said he did not believe that the current US administration would take any action and added that he expects no extraordinary move as the Bush government has left the matter for the next government to address.

MK Yisrael Hasson also expressed concern over what he called the 'lack of understanding' about the reality of the Middle East and said any move that did not begin with Iran would be doomed to failure.