JERUSALEM -- A simmering dispute between the U.S. and Israel over Iran's nuclear program burst into the open on Monday, as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, on a visit to Israel, called for continued diplomatic engagement with Tehran, while Israeli officials repeatedly warned of a possible military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Iran's apparent pursuit of a nuclear weapon is emerging as a major source of tension between the U.S. and Israel, which are already feuding over President Barack Obama's call for a complete freeze on Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Several senior U.S. officials are visiting Israel this week to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to halt Israeli settlement activity, a step the Israeli leader has so far refused to take. The Obama administration's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, is already in the region, while National Security Adviser James Jones and White House Mideast adviser Dennis Ross are slated to arrive in coming days.
Israeli officials plan to use the meetings to underscore the country's growing unease about the Obama administration's diplomatic outreach to Iran. Israeli officials believe Iran may be less than a year away from enriching enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon, a move Mr. Netanyahu's government sees as an existential threat to the future of the Jewish state.
In a joint news conference with Mr. Gates, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak emphasized that Israel believed "no option should be removed from the table" when it came to Iran, a clear allusion to a possible military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
After a later meeting with Mr. Gates, Mr. Netanyahu said he told the American defense chief of "the seriousness to which Israel views Iran's nuclear ambitions and the need to utilize all available means to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear-weapons capability."
Mr. Gates, on his first visit to Israel in more than two years, said Washington shared the country's deep concern about the Iranian nuclear program. He said that the Obama administration's diplomatic outreach to Iran was "not an open-ended offer" and that the U.S. wanted a clear response from Tehran by the time the United Nations General Assembly convenes in late September.
"We're very mindful of the possibility that the Iranians would simply try to run out the clock," he said.
During a later stop in the Jordanian capital of Amman, Mr. Gates said Israeli officials told him they were willing to give the administration's diplomatic overtures more time to work before deciding whether to use force against Iran.
"I have the sense that as long as the process isn't completely open-ended that the Israelis are prepared to let it go forward," he said.
Israeli officials made clear they were unhappy with the administration's outreach to Tehran and that they wanted tougher measures. In his appearance with Mr. Gates, Mr. Barak said any negotiations with Iran should be "short in time and well-defined in objectives."
If the talks don't show quick signs of progress, the Israeli defense minister said Israel would push the U.N. to impose binding "Chapter 7" sanctions on Iran, a step the world body has so far refused to take.
Mr. Gates indicated the Obama administration would support stronger measures against Iran if progress isn't made. "If the engagement process is not sufficient the U.S. is prepared to press for significant additional sanctions," he said.
Mr. Gates declined to say whether the administration had begun crafting specific sanctions or canvassing American allies at the U.N. to drum up support for such measures.
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