Middle East News
Israel warns against easing stand against Iran (Roundup)
Dec 5, 2007, 14:17 GMT
Tel Aviv - Israeli officials Wednesday warned world leaders against letting down their guard and easing their policies toward Iran's nuclear programme, after a new US intelligence report stated Tehran had halted its atomic weapons programme.
The officials also urged them to support greater sanctions against the regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad despite the report.
'It is clear to all that Iran is continuing its efforts to acquire nuclear technology,' Israeli Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said in a statement sent to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Wednesday.
'It could use this know-how in order to produce weapons secretly, without inspection,' she warned.
Continued 'determined' action was therefore needed to intensify the sanctions by all means, she said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres issued a similar, stark warning.
'Many intelligence reports throughout the world have proven inaccurate in the dimensions of history. But on the Iranian issue we cannot afford compromises,' a statement from his office said.
'There are a number of clear warning signs which stand above any intelligence reports,' the statement quoted him as telling visiting former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright.
Once Iran had nuclear abilities, the transfer from civilian to military use could be made 'easily and quickly,' he warned.
Dozens of North-Korean and Russian nuclear scientists were selling their know-how for 'a lot of money,' he said, and 'no intelligence organization in the world could know the exact amount of technology that was being passed on to Iran.
'We can wake up in the morning and find out that the technology has been passed on in full and unhindered and is on its way to implementation,' Peres told Albright.
Calling Ahmadinejad a 'dangerous and extremist religious leader,' he said Iran was supplying only 'crumbs of information' to United Nations nuclear inspectors and using 'manipulation' tactics by cooperating with them only partially.
'The world musn't be calm and mustn't end its fight against Ahmadinejad's wish to create a nuclear bomb which will serve him in his war against the free world,' said Peres, whose current duties as president are mainly ceremonial, but who is considered an authority on the nuclear issue.
Tehran, he said, was also investing 'billions of dollars' in developing long-range missiles, which endangered all of Europe and could be fitted with nuclear warheads.
Livni earlier said the sanctions had 'proven effective' against Iran.
'All are in agreement that the world cannot accept a nuclear Iran,' she said.
Livni made the remarks in a briefing late Tuesday to Israeli ambassadors around the world, instructing them to continue their diplomatic fight against Iran's nuclear progamme, the statement from her office said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert too said Tuesday that Israel would continue pushing to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
'We will make every effort - first and foremost with our friends in the US - to prevent the production of this kind of weapon,' he told reporters in Jerusalem before meeting the Italian deputy prime minister.
He said he had discussed the report's findings prior to publication during meetings with administration officials in Washington last week.
Israel considers Iran as its biggest regional threat and has been pushing tougher sanctions within the UN Security Council.
Other Israeli government officials told Israeli media that Israel feared the report may weaken that effort.
The officials have also been trying to downplay the difference between the US and Israeli intelligence assessments, saying Israel too believed Iran had suspended its programme in 2003, but probably renewed it and if not, could do so anytime it chose to do so.
The office of Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, charged with the Iranian file, also stressed to dpa the 'picture at large has not changed.'
The US intelligence report, the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), released Monday, said Iran seemed less determined to develop nuclear arms than previously believed.
But it had continued to enrich uranium and could therefore have enough material to build a bomb between 2010 and 2015.
The NIE added that it did not have enough intelligence to 'judge confidently' whether Tehran was willing to maintain the halt of its nuclear weapons programme indefinitely.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Why am I not surprised at Israels attitude, the rest of the world have'nt got the bottle to tell this facist state what to do with itself. If Iran vanished off the face of the earth tomorrow, Olmert and his backer Bush would still not be satisfied, Their aim is complete domination of the Middle east and indeed the world. Israel is a very canny state, it gets other countrys to do it's fighting, especialy the Americans. I don't beleieve Iran has are wan'ts to aquire the bomb, more the pity. because someone in the Middle East needs the wherewithall to stop that jumped up state 'Israel' from throwing it's weight about.
Israel is trying to dominate the ME? A few million against a few hundred million?
Lay off the kool-aid.
Why don't the arabs/muslims spend more resources educating their foaming at the mouth death chanting nutball masses? It is beyond absurd.
And you want to risk them getting nuclear materials? Is that wise?
“Welcome to the UN. It’s your world.” This is how the United Nations’ website welcomes the visitors. But for Iranians, it is not their world. It is a world that has been discriminating against them for years. It is a world that has depicted Iran as the devil and has denied its rights.
The world has been convinced that Iran is a threat for its neighbours. This is while for the last 250 years Iran has not attacked any country but has been attacked in many occasions. Most recently, Iran was a victim of chemical weapons supplied by the western powers. More than 100,000 Iranians were killed in those chemical attacks. Not only the world and the United Nations did not come into rescue, an Iranian complaint to the United Nations Security Council was vetoed by the United States . Where was the conscience of the world at that time?
Iranians have been depicted as terrorists. It is a very confusing world for an Iranian. There has been no Iranian involved in any terrorist attacks in the past. Iran does support Hizbollah, but Hizbollah only and only fights inside the borders of his country against foreign military personnel and never against civilians. For an Iranian, it is mind baffling to call that terrorism. In contrast, the United States has shot an Iranian passenger plane over the Persian Gulf , has supplied chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein to be used against Iranians, and has bombed and tortured civilians across the world over the past years. For Iranians, it is a mystery why the United Nations does not consider the US a terror state.
It is advertised that Iran does not agree to suspend uranium enrichment under any condition. Iran did agree to suspend uranium enrichment. The Iranian conditions included disarming the entire Middle East region from nuclear and chemical weapons and giving Iran security guarantee against foreign invasion and foreign attempts for regime change. The US did not agree these conditions. What did Iranians think when these two conditions were denied? How did Iranians feel when, knowing that these two conditions have been denied, the United Nations went on to pose sanctions against them? The United Nations denied Iran a security guarantee against invasion, bombs, killing and torture of another country. The United Nations denied Iran sovereignty. Is Iranian blood any different from that of the other nations?
Iranians are not building an arsenal to threaten their neighbours or any other country. For the last 250 years, Iran has not attacked any country. While the majority of Iranians, including the writers, denounce and condemn president Ahmadinejad’s comments on Israel and the holocaust, his remarks did not contain a military threat to Israel . He called for the day that “the Zionist regime” (intentionally mistranslated to “ Israel ” by the western media) is wiped off the map. He continued to explain that by “the Zionist regime” he means a regime that discriminates against non-Jews and is, therefore, racist. He concluded his remarks with wishing for the day that Jews and non-Jews live in peace and harmony in that region. This is not a military threat, and most definitely not a threat against Jews. In the past, Iran has denounced the apartheid regime of South Africa . However, Iran has become one of South Africa ’s closest allies as soon as the racist practices have been abandoned there. What makes other nations believe the same will not happen this time?
Iranians feel that the United Nations is paving the way for the US to destroy another nation, to kill and to torture Iranians. This is not the first time the US has committed such crime. At this critical time, there is nothing left for Iranians but to hope that some day the conscious of the world will awaken and regret these actions.
CHARLES
200 hundred or more nucleer weapons all the high tech weapons it needs from it's benefactor the USA, bunker busting bombs helicopter gunships by the thousand, a navy that dosen't mind who it bombs including American ships get real man, you don't need a vast population to wage a war. just mindless morons, like your Pressy and Olmert.
Iran has more to fear from the West than ever, what we have now is a US president that dosen't believe his own Inteligence services, but of course we all know that isn't realy the truth, The USA is hell bent on a war with Iran no matter what that country does, the West financed and encouraged Sadam to attack Iran, but they backed the wrong horse again.
I only wish Iran did have nucleer weapons at it's disposal, I fear it is the only thing that will keep them from American aggresion. The public in the USA will believe anything that their discredited President says. The media is nothing but a mouthpeice for Bush and the neocons, who will print all sorts of trash, including the socalled Wipeing Israel off the map knowing full well Armadinigen never said that, but hey why should the truth get in front of vile propaganda which is portraid throughout the American ' free press '.
@waine
You sound like a nut. Turn the volume down.
We had decent relations with Iran until they attacked sovereign US territory and kidnapped hundreds of our citizens for over a year. Can you imagine! Now their oppressive theocracy gets its citizens whipped into frenzies burning effigies and chanting for death. Their President rails for the destruction of a UN member nation and has religious delusions. We know what deluded muslims can do when they fantasize about joining their 72 virgins in paradise. I think another zealot just blew themselves and dozens of other people up in Iraq. The terrorists they sponsor have killed hundreds of Americans who were not fighting Iran. The cycle of violence they sponsor makes peace impossible and prolongs the suffering of Palestinians.
Iran had a clandestine nuclear program that was never voluntarily disclosed, and had a secret weapons program until a few years ago that has apparently been put on hold. If their intentions were peaceful, then they wouldn't have hidden it. Duh?
The US is far from perfect, but it would be imprudent to allow aggressive dark ages religious zealots access to nuclear weapons and technology. It probably can't be helped, but all it means is that we are that much closer to our doom.
CHARLES I hold my hands up, you definatly are an authority on what a nutter is, after all you are surounded by them in the Whitehouse.
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JasonDec 5th, 2007 - 18:26:47
Israel is the largest stumbling block for world peace. The only comment they can give is that Iran has 'probably' restarted their nuke weapons program? Wow, that is some real scientific hard data there...Probably. Please, stop giving these hatemongering Israeili media time to spout their hateful oppressive nonsense. Provide proof that Iran is making weapon or STFU.
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