Middle East News
Israel: Nuclear Iran would spark unprecedented arms race
Jan 6, 2010, 17:42 GMT
Jerusalem - A nuclear Iran would set off an unprecedented arms race in the Middle East, Israel warned Wednesday.
'A nuclear Iran would destroy the world order,' Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon told a gathering in Jerusalem.
'We would see a nuclear arms race which we have never seen before.'
He urged the international community to form a 'united front' against Iranian nuclear aspirations.
Iran was an especially dangerous state to possess an atom bomb because of its 'radical, fundamentalist' regime, its 'extremist policy' and its support of Islamic militant factions, he charged.
Tehran was 'banking on driving a wedge between the different members of the security council and the international community.
'Suffice to say that I take the American president and secretary of state at their word and they are right to say and to state that all options are on the table,' Ayalon warned, alluding to the possibility of a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities in case international sanctions failed.
Speculation has been rife as to whether Israel is planning such a military strike and whether it would carry out such a plan even without US support.
Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that they prefer tough international sanctions, but have equally often threatened that it would not rule out military action.
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