In another development being linked to possible preparations of an attack against Iran, the Secretary of the US Air Force, Michael Donley, told the Capitol Hill Club last week that the force's new bunker buster bombs were ready for use if needed.
In recent months, the bombs have undergone technical improvements.
The bombs, each weighing 15 tonnes, can destroy fortified bunkers deep underground where chemical or nuclear weapons may be stored.
This would include the uranium enrichment facility deep inside the mountains near the Iranian city of Qom, the report said.
The United States has told Israel several times that the existence of such weapons means Iran will never reach the point where its nuclear facilities are immune to attack.
American attempts to allay Israeli concerns will continue this week with the arrival on Tuesday of Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
He is scheduled to meet Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and senior security and intelligence officials on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the United States and its allies continue to ratchet up the economic and diplomatic pressure on Tehran. Despite these efforts, the diplomatic channels to persuade Israel seem to have hit a roadblock.
Israel's ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has discussed the lack of progress in talks with the Iranians at a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Ashton is holding talks to that effect in Brussels with Iran as the representative of the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
The day before Ashton's meeting with Lieberman, her deputy, Helga Schmid, met in Istanbul with Iran's deputy chief of negotiations, Ali Bagheri.
In recent months, the bombs have undergone technical improvements.
The bombs, each weighing 15 tonnes, can destroy fortified bunkers deep underground where chemical or nuclear weapons may be stored.
This would include the uranium enrichment facility deep inside the mountains near the Iranian city of Qom, the report said.
The United States has told Israel several times that the existence of such weapons means Iran will never reach the point where its nuclear facilities are immune to attack.
American attempts to allay Israeli concerns will continue this week with the arrival on Tuesday of Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
He is scheduled to meet Netanyahu, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and senior security and intelligence officials on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the United States and its allies continue to ratchet up the economic and diplomatic pressure on Tehran. Despite these efforts, the diplomatic channels to persuade Israel seem to have hit a roadblock.
Israel's ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has discussed the lack of progress in talks with the Iranians at a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Ashton is holding talks to that effect in Brussels with Iran as the representative of the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.
The day before Ashton's meeting with Lieberman, her deputy, Helga Schmid, met in Istanbul with Iran's deputy chief of negotiations, Ali Bagheri.