Biden Says Israel Has ‘Sovereign Right’ to Hit Iran , By Ryan J. Donmoyer, Bloomberg

July 6 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Joe Biden asserted Israel’s “sovereign right” to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities and reiterated a U.S. offer to meet with the Tehran government over its suspected weapons program.

Israel “can determine for itself as a sovereign nation what is in its best interest,” Biden said in an interview with the ABC News program “This Week,” that was taped July 4 and aired yesterday. A U.S. offer to meet with Iran about its nuclear program remains “on the table,” Biden said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said May 18 after a White House meeting with President Barack Obama that a nuclear-armed Iran is “the worst danger we face.”

Protests in Iran over last month’s presidential election have put its nuclear ambitions in a new diplomatic light as the world waits to see whether the country’s ruling mullahs choose isolation or engagement with the U.S. and its allies, Biden said.

“We’re not rushing to sit down,” he added. “We need to wait to see how this sort of settles out.”

If Iranian leaders “seek to engage, we will engage” in talks, Biden said. If Iran responds by isolating itself, the U.S. has no standing to prevent Israel from taking action, he said.

“Israel can determine for itself as a sovereign nation what is in its best interest,” Biden said. “If the Netanyahu government decides to take a course of action different than the one being pursued now, that is their sovereign right to do that. That is not our choice.”

Iran’s Response

A senior Iranian parliamentary official warned of “real and decisive” action if Israel launches a strike on its nuclear facilities, the Associated Press reported.

Alaeddin Broujerdi, the head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, told reporters in Tokyo today that both the U.S. and Israel are “aware of the consequence” of such action, the AP reported.


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-- With assistance from Henry Meyer in Dubai. Editors: Robert Greene, Ed Johnson

To contact the reporter on this story: Ryan J. Donmoyer in Washington at rdonmoyer@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 6, 2009 02:19 EDT