Will Obama invite Israel to summit on Iran?

The Obama administration's plan for a summit to consolidate a unified international stance against the Iranian nuclear threat could exacerbate tensions between Israel and the new U.S. government.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced last month at a G-8 summit that he would host a special summit in Washington dedicated specifically to the Iran matter. He has not yet declared an official date for the conference, but tentative plans see it for March.

The U.S. is expected to invite some 25-30 countries to the conference, though the official list has not yet been drawn up. However, some White House officials have already begun wondering: Should Israel be invited?

If Israel is invited to participate, the Politico Web site posits, its representatives will be forced to address direct questions undoubtedly to be thrown that way regarding Israel's own nuclear program.

However, if Israel is not invited, then the other Middle Eastern delegates will be free to criticize Israel without response and to blame it for the lack of regional stability.

Former State Department official Aaron Miller, an expert in the Israeli-Arab conflict, has likened the summit organizers' decision to a "root canal."

Even if the agenda of the summit is set well in advance to deal only with the prevention of "nuclear terror," said Miller, participants will find a way to bring Israel into the discussion.

While a White House official involved in the preparations emphasized that the list of invitees is still far from finished, many analysts doubt Israel will receive an official invitation. And if Israel is invited, they say, Arab states will likely boycott. Nevertheless, say the analysts, Israel will be free to express its opinion in "other ways."