Israel’s Netanyahu denies wasting money on Iran strike plan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, Jan 13 dismissed allegations by predecessor Ehud Olmert that he wasted billions of dollars preparing for a strike on Iran that did not take place, Reuters reported.

Olmert, who once led the centrist Kadima party, told Israel's Channel 2 television on Friday that 11 billion shekels (about $3 billion) were wasted on "illusionary security escapades that have not been implemented and will not be implemented".

Olmert, prime minister from 2006 to 2009, did not mention Iran by name but Israeli media said his meaning was clear in the attack on Netanyahu in the run-up to a January 22 parliamentary election.

Israel and the West suspect Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing atomic weapons. Tehran says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes only.

"Last year they (Israel's leadership) frightened the whole world and in the end nothing was done," Olmert added, appearing to allude to warnings by Israel that it might strike Iran if Western sanctions failed to curb its nuclear activities.

Netanyahu, who leads the right-wing Likud party and is widely forecast to win the election, has set out a mid-2013 "red line" for tackling Iran's uranium enrichment project.