All three of Israel's most senior leaders are visiting the United States in attempt to reach an understanding with the Obama administration over a possible strike on Iran's nuclear programme.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak conferred this week with the heads of the Pentagon while President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will both meet President Barack Obama.

The flurry of dip

It is rare that the political class has been as united as it was on Monday evening when MPs voted by 285 to six for a cross-party amendment to keep all options open when dealing with Iran. The anti-war Tory MP John Baron proposed a backbench motion calling on the government to remove military intervention from the table and barely a voice was raised in support.

The refusal of the Iranian government to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors access to some of the country's nuclear plants will bolster the arguments of the Israeli faction, headed by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, that argue that diplomacy and sanctions will not deter the Tehran regime from achieving its nuclear ambitions.

An Iranian football team has pulled out of a match with a Serbian club because the other side is coached by an Israeli.

Avram Grant, the former West Ham United manager, has been at Partizan Belgrad since last month.

The Serbian team is due to play Iran's Sepahan Isfahan on Friday, in a friendly match.

But the Iranians have told the Belgrade side that they will not take part any more.

Israel was urged to give sanctions "a real chance" as Iran announced it was cutting oil sales to Britain and France.

Foreign Secretary William Hague called on Israel to look again at the approach "of very serious economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and the readiness to negotiate with Iran.

Thai police have confirmed that the explosives that injured an Iranian man earlier this week were meant for Israeli diplomats.

Israel has already made public its belief that Iran was behind the botched attack in Bangkok, another failed one in Georgia and a blast in Delhi on Monday.