US military talks with Israel

All has not returned to "normal" but the signs are still good that direct military action is off the table, at least for now. 

But increasing economic sanctions, as opposed to the proposed and stillborn oil embargo are hurting Iran. Might the goal be to goading Iran into attacking first? 

I don't think Iran will fall for that and it now has enough overtly stated support from Russia and China to ride it out, especially as many nations are scrambling to dump the dollar as a reserve currency - MCR

U.S. Holds Military Talks With Israel on Iran as EU Readies Bank Freeze

Israeli leaders held talks with the top U.S. military commander, General Martin Dempsey, following the postponement of a joint exercise that was to be the biggest ever for the two allies.

Bloomberg,

21 Janaury, 2012

Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he stressed common interests and the important partnership between the U.S. and Israel in his meetings with Israeli counterpart Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and President Shimon Peres. He was also scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we’ll all be,” said Dempsey, who is on his first visit to Israel as the Obama administration’s top military adviser, according to an e-mailed statement from the Israeli Defense Ministry.

U.S. and Israeli officials have described Dempsey’s visit as a routine consultation between allies, dismissing speculation that it is focused on coordinating strategy against Iran. Barak said Jan. 18 that he doesn’t think the U.S. general’s trip is aimed at pressuring Israel against striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said today that military action against Iran “would not solve the problem but unleash war and chaos.” Speaking to foreign diplomats in Paris, he said the international community should instead impose tougher sanctions “that include an oil import ban by all and the freeze of central bank assets.”

Dempsey’s chief spokesman, Colonel David Lapan, said after the meetings in Israel that the general’s talks “served to advance a common understanding of the regional security environment.”

Unilateral Strike

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other U.S. officials have repeatedly warned Israel not to take action against Iran alone, including during the defense secretary’s October visit to Tel Aviv. Should Israel decide to undertake a unilateral military strike against Iran, Panetta said the first U.S. priority would be protecting American troops in the region.

The joint military exercise was moved to the second half of 2012 for “a variety of factors” to promote “optimum participation by all units,” Captain John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, said last week in an e-mail. “We remain dedicated to this exercise and naturally want it to be as robust and as productive as it can be.”

Bank Sanctions

The U.S., its European allies and the International Atomic Energy Agency have said that while Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, there are indications it may still be trying to build a nuclear weapon. They have challenged the government in Tehran to prove that its nuclear research is intended only for energy and medical research, as Iranian officials maintain.

U.S. sanctions imposed last year seek to cut off dealings with Iran’s banking system, making it difficult for consumers to buy the country’s oil. European Union officials meet Jan. 23 to discuss an oil embargo that may be delayed by six months to give some members time to find alternate supplies, two EU officials said.

Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon told Israel Radio Jan. 15 that while Congress had shown itself determined to place tougher sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program, the Obama administration “appears more hesitant out of fear that oil prices might rise.”