Israeli Defense Minister: “There is no difference in the assessment of intelligence” between U.S. and Israel

In a U.S. television exclusive, Christiane Amanpour inteviewed Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak for the Thursday edition of Amanpour.  Barak stated that the Israeli and U.S. intelligence findings regarding the objectives of the Iranian nuclear program are aligned.  He also offered his views on the impact of the current international  sanctions that are intended to discourage Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions.

In response to Amanpour’s question referencing the Iranian Supreme Leader’s fatwa prohibiting nuclear weapons, Barak said:

“But why he’s doing this, just because he understands that if he starts to break the IAEA and start to actually build a weapon, he might find himself faced with an American response, your response or whatever, in a way that might damage him.  And that’s the only reason why he did not give the order.  But they’re clearly heading toward this objective.”

Amanpour airs weekdays on CNN International at 3:00pm with a replay at 5:00pm Eastern in the U.S.  and at 21:00 CET, with a replay at 23:00 CET.  This program will also be available via www.cnn.com/amanpour on Friday, April 20.  The full transcript of this program may be found here.

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