Last update - 00:00 10/12/2007
U.S. army chief meets Israeli officials to discuss Iran report
By Amir Oren, Haaretz Correspondent
The Bush administration's top military commander held high-level talks on Monday with Israeli officials after Israel said it disagreed with U.S.
intelligence findings that Iran had shelved a nuclear weapons program.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met DefenseMinister Ehud Barak and was to hold talks with intelligence experts during a 24-hour visit, military sources said.
Mullen has indicated in remarks released by the Pentagon that he understands Israel's security concerns regarding Iran.
Mullen arrived in Israel Sunday night for a one-day visit as the guest of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi.
Ahead of Mullen's visit, the Pentagon released the transcript of a lecture he gave at the War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania November 28. Among the students is an IDF colonel.
During the question and answer session, Mullen was asked about Israel and Iran. From Mullen's answer, it can be understood the questioner, who was not identified, was an IDF officer.
"I've been to Israel more than once," Mullen said. "I understand to some degree, physically where you live, and certainly the concerns that exist from the Israeli perspective about your neighborhood.
"So I think how Israel thinks and views the world is a very important consideration for us in the United States. And certainly from my perspective as a military leader in the U.S. of America."
Mullen also said that the "strategic decision on the part of Iran to essentially move its Navy - it's got two navies, one's IRGC [Revolutionary Guards] led and the other is Iranian Navy. And, essentially to give the entire Gulf to the IRGC over the next four or five years. That's a big deal."
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