Israel Threatens Iran - Iran threatens counter-strike

[Gold9472]

Netanyahu warns of Iran nuclear threat
Ex-prime minister says Israel should take ‘bold and courageous’ action

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10326094/

Updated: 5:59 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2005

JERUSALEM - Israel should take “bold and courageous” action against arch-foe Iran’s nuclear program, similar to its 1981 air strike on the main Iraqi atomic reactor, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

The frontrunner to head Israel’s right-wing Likud Party ahead of March 28 elections, Netanyahu has been drawing battle lines with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who last week voiced hope that foreign diplomacy would prevent Iran getting the bomb.

“It must be understood that Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear threat against Israel,” Netanyahu told Israel Radio.

“I will pursue the legacy of (Prime Minister) Menachem Begin, who through a bold and courageous move did not allow a neighbor of Iran, Iraq, to develop such a threat. I believe that this is what Israel should do,” he said.

Believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear power, Israel under Begin sent warplanes to bomb the Iraqi reactor in Osiraq in 1981. Saddam Hussein’s quest for nuclear arms was driven underground until U.N. inspectors uncovered a secret program a decade later.

Independent experts believe Israel, perhaps with U.S. support, could mount a similar strike against Iran, though its facilities are numerous, dispersed and well-defended.

Iran, the world’s fourth-biggest oil producer, says its nuclear program is for energy needs only. It has vowed to retaliate against any attack.

Netanyahu said he was calling for “any action necessary to prevent a situation in which Iran threatens us with nuclear weapons”.

Tensions between Iran and Israel escalated after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called in October for the Jewish state to be “wiped off the map”. Iran later said the remarks, which drew global censure, did not constitute a threat.

Sharon said on Thursday that Israel could not accept the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran but steered clear of directly threatening military action.

Sharon reaffirmed Israel’s support for diplomatic efforts, led by the United States and the European Union, to curb Iranian uranium enrichment -- a key step for creating nuclear arms.

Israeli officials have said that, unless stopped, Iran will achieve the know-how to build a bomb by March next year. Independent estimates have put Iran years away from such a capability.

[Gold9472]

Israel Threatens Iran

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=94212

By Hillel Fendel
13:39 Dec 05, '05 / 4 Kislev 5766

The Iranian nuclear threat has been known for years, but only now has it suddenly become a hot issue in Israel. PM Sharon: "We cannot allow a situation in which Iran becomes a nuclear power."

Speaking at a joint press conference with his new political partner Shimon Peres on Sunday, Prime Minister Sharon said, "We see Iran as a great threat. This is an international problem, and not just ours. I think it's clear that we cannot allow a situation in which Iran becomes a nuclear power. Israel is not the one leading the process, but it is a partner with those countries that are concerned about this dangerous development. We are working together with Europe and the U.S. It seems to me that the most correct expression was that of President Bush who said, 'I don't think that this topic can be left on the agenda without fundamental treatment.'"

International Atomic Energy Agency Chairman Mohammed El Baradei told the British newspaper “The Independent” that once Iran resumes the enrichment of uranium, it will be only “a few months” away from manufacturing an atomic bomb. El Baradei estimates that the Iranians will resume uranium enrichment at its reactor in Bantaz over the next few days.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said on Sunday that he does not believe that diplomacy will solve the problem of the Iranian threat. Speaking with members of the foreign press in Tel Aviv, Halutz said he does not believe American and European pressure on Iran regarding ongoing nuclear enrichment efforts will bear fruit.

The IDF commander pointed out that Iran has continued its nuclear program to date, despite international pressure.

MK Dr. Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that Israel must take seriously a warning by an Iranian official that Tehran is working towards establishing 20 nuclear reactors.

The head of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, has said that Iran has issued permits for the construction of another 20 nuclear power plants. Two are slated to be built in March 2006.

Shteinitz added that Iran is seeking to become a global nuclear power, working toward building tens of nuclear weapons in the coming years.

Iran reacted with threats of its own. "Israel knows that if it takes a mistaken step, it will be met with a strong response from Iran," said a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran. "Israel's declarations are influenced from the internal crisis of the Zionists, and its threats indicate that it is an element that endangers the region."

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, a candidate for Chairman of the Likud Party, was asked this morning on Army Radio why this issue has suddenly come to the fore. Does it have something to do with the current election, he was asked? "You'll have to ask those who brought it up," he responded. "I have been dealing with this issue for a long time, trying to get it on the United Nations agenda. Up until about two months ago, it was thought that this was only Israel's problem - but now the world is realizing that Iran is also manufacturing missiles that can reach London, Rome, Paris, and Madrid."

[Gold9472]

Iran threatens counter-strike

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3179301,00.html

Roee Nahmias
12/5/2005

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says recent Israeli statements on Iran's nuclear project show Israeli government is frustrated from failure to bring international community to pressure Iran: 'Zionist authorities are well aware that if they make a foolish mistake against Iran, Iran's harsh response will be destructive and determined'

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Hamid Riza Asaffi, speaking with journalists in Teheran, said that recent Israeli statements on Iran's nuclear project showed that the Israeli government is frustrated from a failure to bring pressure from the international community to on Iran.

He claimed that a "serious crisis" within the "Zionist authorities" was the main factor behind what he described as Israeli threats. His comments were reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

"The Zionist authorities are well aware that if they make a foolish mistake against Iran, Iran's harsh response will be destructive and determined," said the spokesman. "Their approach comes from their anger over the fact that they can't realize their plans," he added.

Earlier, Benjamin Netanyahu told the Voice of Israel national radio network that "Israel must take every necessary step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran must be prevented from developing this threat to the State of Israel. If, by the elections, the current government works to achieve this, I will give it my full support – and if it does not, I intend on establishing the next government, and then we'll act."

Meretz-Yahad faction head Yossi Beilin said that narrow considerations based on elections will drag Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Netanyahu to harsh comments that will be perceived as support for military action against Iran. Beilin said Israel must work for diplomatic activity to be led by the United States without endangering Israel in a confrontation with Iran with potentially disastrous consequences.

Also on Sunday the head of Tehran's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi was quoted saying by Tehran's official news agency IRNA that Iran's Atomic Energy Organization has been given license to set up another 20 nuclear plants, two of them by March 2006.

Iran's first nuclear plant is being built by Russia for USD 1 billion and is scheduled to begin operating by March 2006.

'Diplomatic pressure won't work'
According to Boroujerdi, the new power plants will be able to generate 20,000 megawatts of electricity. However, international and Israeli intelligence sources claim the program may be a front to build an atomic bomb, an allegation Iran's vigorously denies.

Last week Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said “Israel and other countries cannot accept a situation where Iran has nuclear arms.

“The issue is clear to us and we are making all the necessary preparations to handle a situation of this kind,” Sharon told journalists in Tel Aviv.

Israel needs not lead the campaign, yet we are in close contact with countries that are dealing with the issue,” the prime minister said.

Sharon said he agrees with U.S. President George W. Bush that dealing with Iran’s push for nuclear armament is a top priority, adding that he hoped the “large danger will be dealt with” by referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council.

“Israel is not hopeless and is taking all the necessary measures,” Sharon said.

IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz told foreign reporters Sunday he is skeptical that diplomatic pressure will put a halt to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"The fact that the Iranians are successful time after time in getting away from international pressure...encourages them to continue their nuclear project," he said.

"I believe that the political means used by the Europeans and the U.S. to convince the Iranians to stop the project will not succeed," Halutz added.

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