U.S. President George W. Bush rejected last year an Israeli request to provide sophisticated, deep-penetration bombs to attack Iran's underground nuclear enrichment facilities, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The Bush administration also rebuffed Israel's plan to fly through U.S. controlled Iraqi airspace to reach the Iranian territory, unidentified Pentagon officials were quoted as saying.

The Israelis had not proposed a specific date for an attack, and it was not clear how far along the planning was when the requests were made, the officials said.

Apart from the report by the Washington Post, the New York Times Website reported on Saturday that President Bush, in an attempt to soften his refusal, told the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he had authorized a new covert action program to sabotage Iran's uranium enrichment program.

The reports by the two leading U.S. newspapers have not been confirmed by the White House or the State Department.

Both the United States and Israel regard Iran as a major threat in the Middle East, accusing the Islamic Republic of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of civil nuclear program.

Iran denied the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

(Xinhua News Agency January 12, 2009)