Posted on 12/16/2003 6:50:23 AM PST by Pan_Yans Wife
Iran is the world's "No. 1 terror nation" and is plotting relentlessly to attack Israeli targets, the head of Israel's Shin Bet security service said Tuesday, calling on Western nations to restrain Tehran.
Israel has in the past accused Iran of sponsoring militant groups that attack Israel, but the remarks by the Shin Bet chief, Avi Dichter, appeared particularly harsh.
Addressing a conference on national security, Dichter said Iran is sponsoring terrorism and developing non-conventional weapons, and poses a strategic threat.
"It is clear that because of terror, Iran presents a strategic threat to Israel. And if you connect the other abilities that Iran is developing to this, the threat is even bigger," he said, in an apparent reference to Tehran's nuclear program.
"Iran is the No. 1 terror nation in the world," Dichter said.
"Iran acts against Israel and Israeli interests around the world," he said, citing the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and wounded more than 200 in Argentina's deadliest terror attack.
Some Argentine and Jewish leaders allege the bombing is linked to the Lebanon-based Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah and the Iranian government, charges Tehran has repeatedly denied.
Israel's army chief of staff, Moshe Yaalon, described Iran as a "serious threat to Israel." He cited "its development of surface-to-surface missiles and its attempts in recent years to acquire nuclear capabilities. even if it has run into difficulties, due to international pressure."
Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. group, censured Iran for not declaring certain aspects of its nuclear activities and warned the country to abide by the rules in the future to assure the world it is not making nuclear weapons. Iran has said it will sign a protocol allowing IAEA inspectors access to any nuclear site but has yet to do so.
Dichter said Iran is trying to attack Israel not only by sponsoring Hezbollah and Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza, but also by recruiting Israel's Arab citizens.
"The third way, which is possibly the most dangerous for us, is that Iran has marked the Israeli Arabs as a potential fifth column for them to exploit," Dichter said.
He said the United States, the European Union and Russia need to restrain Iran.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.