WASHINGTON – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a five-day trip to the United States yesterday, ready to make concessions to the Palestinians but not to Iran.
On the flight to Washington, Olmert, who meets with President Bush today, repeated his view that Iran will not scale back its nuclear ambitions unless it fears the consequences.
“The Iranians should be afraid that something might happen to them . . . Otherwise, they will reject any compromise,” he said.
But Olmert appeared to play down a suggestion Friday by Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh that Israel is preparing for a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program.
Asked to comment on Sneh’s remarks, Olmert replied that “we have to be very careful about what we say. Israel has all kinds of capabilities.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the country’s military would hit back with a “swift, strong and crushing” response to any Israeli military action.
On the issue of the Palestinians, Olmert plans to tell Bush he is ready to take steps to strengthen the hand of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in his dealings with Hamas, which controls the Palestinian parliament.
With Post Wire Services