Israel denies reported Iran attack plan

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A top Israeli official Saturday denied a published report that Israel has a plan to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

Deputy Defense Minister MK Ephraim Sneh said Israel is not laying the groundwork to take out Iran's nuclear facilities, despite a report saying so in the British Daily Telegraph, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The Telegraph said Israel has asked the United States for permission to fly over Iraq as part of the attack on Iran.

The Telegraph quoted an Israeli source saying, "We are planning for every eventuality, and sorting out issues such as these are crucially important.

"The only way to do this is to fly through U.S.-controlled air space. If we don't sort these issues out now we could have a situation where American and Israeli war planes start shooting at each other," said the source described by the Telegraph as a senior defense official.

Iran missed a United Nations deadline Wednesday to halt its production of nuclear fuel that the United States, Israel and other nations suspect is for nuclear weapons. Iran has said it won't stop enriching uranium and that its nuclear program is for producing energy.