Presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) purportedly
told House Democrats in a private meeting Tuesday that Israel may
strike Iran if sanctions on the country fail to prevent development of
nuclear technology.

According to an attendee who spoke to ABC NewsJake Tapper,
Obama quipped, "Nobody said this to me directly but I get the feeling
from my talks that if the sanctions don’t work Israel is going to
strike Iran."

An Israeli air strike on Iran has long been floated among DC
circles, with the idea that Israel will strike if the US fails to act.
Many in Washington see the move as political suicide, since Israels
policies are linked by Arab states to the United States. Recently,
Tapper notes, an Israeli military exercise employed 150 aircraft flying
over the Mediterranean in "what was seen as a dress rehearsal for an
air strike."

Israel bombed Iraqs Osirak light water nuclear reactor in 1981 to
prevent then dictator Saddam Hussein from acquiring nuclear weapons.

"Now that the Bush administration is engaged in diplomatic efforts
with Iran, many Israeli officials are worried the US is getting soft on
Iran, prompting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to travel to the US
this week to meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley,"
Tapper adds."Obamas office released a statement saying ‘a policy that
consists of keeping all options on the table must be maintained.’"

Obama also apparently remarked that Arab states have come around to
the notion that Irans nuclear ambitions place their regions stability
in danger, because an Israeli strike would escalate tension in
neighboring countries.

The Obama campaign had no comment, according to ABC.