Italy PM said 'not even Obama can stop Israeli attack on Iran', WikiLeaks cable reveals
In a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in February, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi said that no one could prevent Israel from striking Iran if it feels an existential threat.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates last February that no one could stop Israel from attacking Iran if it feels an existential threat, according to a classified cable released by WikiLeaks.
The contents of the cable were published on Sunday in the German weekly Der Spiegel.
"No one, including [U.S. President Barack] Obama, can stop Israel if it feels an existential threat," Berlusconi is reported to have said.
Berlusconi concluded that Iran is secretly working to build a nuclear weapon.
Berlusconi warned that, in a preemptive strike, Israel might use nuclear weapons.
Gates told Berlusconi about an Israeli Air Force exercise in June 2008, in which IAF aircraft flew over 800 kilometers to Greece, a hint at the ability of IAF aircraft to reach Iran.