US briefed Israel over Iran attack

President Barack Obama's national security adviser has briefed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a US contingency plan to attack Iran should diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear programme, an Israeli newspaper reported yesterday.
The Haaretz newspaper said that the US adviser - Thomas Donilon - had described the plan in talks with Netanyahu earlier this month.
A senior Netanyahu aide, Harel Locker, refused to comment on the report when asked about it in an interview with an Israeli radio station. Another Israeli official reached by telephone, said "we do not comment on closed-door diplomatic meetings".
Quoting a senior US official it said spoke on condition of anonymity, Haaretz said Donilon had told Netanyahu the Pentagon was planning for a possible decision to attack Iran's nuclear sites, and had shown him some of the plans.
In their talks, the same official said Donilon had also detailed the US military's ability to penetrate nuclear facilities buried deep underground, and had said that such contingency plans were being drawn up in case of a possible deadlock in diplomacy with Iran.
Iran says its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.