U.S. makes ironclad pledge to ensure Israel’s ‘military superiority’: Panetta

The United States will ensure Israel retains “military superiority” over its adversaries as the country faces the potential threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday.

“This is an ironclad pledge which says that the United States will provide whatever support is necessary so that Israel can maintain military superiority over any state or coalition of states, as well as non-state actors,” Panetta told the top pro-Israel lobby in Washington, AIPAC.

He touted President Barack Obama’s record of security assistance to Israel, saying the administration has “dramatically” increased military aid since Obama entered the White House in 2009.

“This year, the president’s budget requests $3.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, compared to $2.5 billion in 2009,” Panetta said in a speech delivered to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Panetta cited advanced missile and rocket defenses and plans to deliver the new F-35 fighter jet to Israel, which he said would provide the country with “unquestioned” air superiority.

But amid growing speculation that Israel may conduct a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, Panetta made no mention of more powerful “bunker buster” bombs that Israel would need to reach some deeply buried targets.

It remains unclear if the Pentagon has provided Israel with the most powerful conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal, the massive ordnance penetrator (MOP), which the Air Force says could strike facilities 200 feet underground.

Israel, believed to be the only nuclear weapons power in the Middle East, fears Iranian nuclear facilities may soon be buried so deep that they would be invulnerable to its bunker-busting bombs, which are less powerful than those in the U.S. arsenal.

U.S. officials say that while Iran may be maneuvering to keep its options open, there is no clear intelligence that it has made a final decision to “break out” with a nuclear warhead.

The Pentagon chief echoed comments by Obama on Sunday, saying the United States would not tolerate Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and was ready to take military action if necessary.

“Let me be clear: We do not have a policy of containment -- we have a policy of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons,” he said to applause from members of AIPAC.

While seeking to reassure Israel’s supporters, Obama on Sunday also criticized “loose talk of war,” pleading for patience in ending the nuclear standoff with Iran, arguing that sustained sanctions could work.

On Monday, Obama met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for two hours at the White House, amid clear signs of disagreement on the imminence of the perceived Iranian nuclear threat and the prospects for sanctions and diplomacy.

The new prospect of diplomacy contributed to a fall in oil prices on Tuesday, with Brent crude down $1.70 to $122.10 by 1458 GMT.

“The risk premium on Iran was pretty high, so one should expect to see that fading because world powers are willing to talk to Iran. It's much harder to launch a military strike on a country if you are talking to them,” said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.