Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Martin Dempsey told a Senate panel on Tuesday he did not counsel Israel against attacking Iran over its nuclear program. “We’ve had a conversation with them about time, the issue of time,” he said. Dempsey was referring to his most recent visit to Israel a month ago.

Speaking at a Senate Budget Committee meeting, the US general also defended his comment that Iran was a rational actor. “We can’t afford to underestimate our potential adversaries by writing them off as irrational,” Dempsey said.

Earlier this month, Dempsey said in a CNN interview that an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would be imprudent, destabilizing and would not achieve Israel’s long term objectives

Asked whether a military strike by the US was off the table, Dempsey responded, “Absolutely not.” He stressed the danger of nuclear weapons reaching terrorist groups and the beginning of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East involving countries threatened by Iran.

(Source: Ynet)