 Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak |
Tel Aviv has reintroduced the idea of attacking Iran in the wake of a deadly military offensive in Gaza, which claimed over 1300 lives.
In a Saturday night meeting with Quartet envoy Tony Blair, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak claimed that Iran's nuclear program threaten the stability of the region.
Iran's enrichment program is a threat for the stability of the Middle East and the whole world. There is still time for sanctions and for the free countries of the world to implement economic sanctions against Iran," said Barak.
Iran's enrichment program is a threat for the stability of the Middle East and the whole world. There is still time for sanctions and for the free countries of the world to implement economic sanctions against Iran," said Barak.
Barak said that Israel was not taking any option off the table with regards to a military attack against Iran, although it needs to cooperate with, Russia and China.
"Cooperation with different countries especially with Russia and China is necessary in light of the threat. This, however, does not take any options off the table," Barak said in remarks translated from an AFP report.
Barak was referring to the West's failure to come to an agreement with Moscow and Beijing about imposing tougher sanctions against Iran in the last UN Security Council resolution passed on Iran.
Under pressure from Israel's devoted ally the US, the Security Council has so far approved four resolutions against Iran, asking the country to suspend its enrichment activities, regardless of NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) regulations.
In a November meeting with the then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Barak asked Washington not to rule out the military option against Iran.
"Cooperation with different countries especially with Russia and China is necessary in light of the threat. This, however, does not take any options off the table," Barak said in remarks translated from an AFP report.
Barak was referring to the West's failure to come to an agreement with Moscow and Beijing about imposing tougher sanctions against Iran in the last UN Security Council resolution passed on Iran.
Under pressure from Israel's devoted ally the US, the Security Council has so far approved four resolutions against Iran, asking the country to suspend its enrichment activities, regardless of NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) regulations.
In a November meeting with the then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Barak asked Washington not to rule out the military option against Iran.
Israel claims that the speedy rate at which Iran is conducting its nuclear program and the comments made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about Israel's final fate indicate that Tehran poses a threat to Israel.
Clarifying his mistranslated comments about wiping Israel off the map, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly explained that he intended to point out that the regime will disappear the same way the Soviet Union and the South African apartheid regime did.
Despite being used in nuclear weaponization programs, uranium enrichment is not an indicator of possible armament intentions, as the process is also part of the nuclear fuel production cycle.
Iran which conducts enrichment on the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog refuses to halt the process arguing that it will turn the country into an energy dependant state when its fossil reserves run out.
The NPT reserves the right for all its signatories to conduct enrichment as part of a civilian nuclear program. The UN watchdog has confirmed that the rate of Iran's enrichment is consistent with a civilian nuclear program.
Quite contrary to Israeli claims, Iran says Israel is the source of all unrest in the Middle East, being the region's sole nuclear armed power and a major participant in most wars.
Throughout its 60-year existence Tel Aviv has taken part in nine regional military confrontations. In its latest military adventurism, Israel killed more than 1340 people, injured around 5,500, and damaged over 12,000 homes.
Israel threatens Iran despite its failure to reach the goals it set out to achieve in the onset of its military campaign in Gaza- an impoverished coastal enclave that had suffered devastating economic set-backs because of an 18-month-long Israeli siege.
When launching the offensive, Tel Aviv said that it wanted to stop rocket fire into Israel. Later on, it added toppling the democratically-elected Palestinian government of Hamas to its list of objectives.
However, as the crisis unfolded, Hamas rocket fire continued, hitting deeper targets within Israel and even reaching an airbase 15 kilometers from Tel Aviv. Hamas is still in control of Gaza, after the two sides announced separate ceasefires.
Iran which conducts enrichment on the supervision of the UN nuclear watchdog refuses to halt the process arguing that it will turn the country into an energy dependant state when its fossil reserves run out.
The NPT reserves the right for all its signatories to conduct enrichment as part of a civilian nuclear program. The UN watchdog has confirmed that the rate of Iran's enrichment is consistent with a civilian nuclear program.
Quite contrary to Israeli claims, Iran says Israel is the source of all unrest in the Middle East, being the region's sole nuclear armed power and a major participant in most wars.
Throughout its 60-year existence Tel Aviv has taken part in nine regional military confrontations. In its latest military adventurism, Israel killed more than 1340 people, injured around 5,500, and damaged over 12,000 homes.
Israel threatens Iran despite its failure to reach the goals it set out to achieve in the onset of its military campaign in Gaza- an impoverished coastal enclave that had suffered devastating economic set-backs because of an 18-month-long Israeli siege.
When launching the offensive, Tel Aviv said that it wanted to stop rocket fire into Israel. Later on, it added toppling the democratically-elected Palestinian government of Hamas to its list of objectives.
However, as the crisis unfolded, Hamas rocket fire continued, hitting deeper targets within Israel and even reaching an airbase 15 kilometers from Tel Aviv. Hamas is still in control of Gaza, after the two sides announced separate ceasefires.
No comments:
Post a Comment