Posted on 01/22/2006 2:25:08 AM PST by sangrila
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's defense minister hinted Saturday that the Jewish state is preparing for military action to stop Iran's nuclear program, but said international diplomacy must be the first course of action.
"Israel will not be able to accept an Iranian nuclear capability and it must have the capability to defend itself, with all that that implies, and this we are preparing," Shaul Mofaz said.
His comments at an academic conference stopped short of overtly threatening a military strike but were likely to add to growing tensions with Iran.
Germany's defense minister said in an interview published Saturday that he is hopeful of a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program, but argued that "all options" should remain open.
Asked by the Bild am Sonntag weekly whether the threat of a military solution should remain in place, Franz Josef Jung was quoted as responding: "Yes, we need all options."
French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that France could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Saturday that Chirac's threats reflect the true intentions of nuclear nations, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
"The French president uncovered the covert intentions of nuclear powers in using this lever (nuclear weapons) to determine political games," IRNA quoted Asefi as saying.
Israel long has identified Iran as its biggest threat and accuses Tehran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran says its atomic program is peaceful.
Iran broke U.N. seals at a uranium enrichment plant Jan. 10 and said it was resuming nuclear research after a 2 1/2-year freeze. Germany, France and Britain said two days later that talks aimed at halting Iran's nuclear progress were at a dead end and called for Iran's referral to the U.N. Security Council.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, will meet Feb. 2 to discuss possible referral.
Israel's Mofaz said sanctions and international oversight of Iran's nuclear program stood as the "correct policy at this time."
In Germany, Jung called himself "confident that there will be a diplomatic solution in the case of Iran."
Israeli leaders have also repeatedly said they hope the crisis can be resolved through diplomacy, and they said any military action would have to be part of an international effort. They have denied having plans for a unilateral preventive strike.
(AP) Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, talks with Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr... Full Image
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Tehran might still agree to Moscow's offer to move its uranium enrichment program to Russia, a step backed by the United States and Europeans as a way to resolve the deadlock.
Israel's concerns about Iran have grown since the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who said last year that Israel should be "wiped off the map."
On Friday, Iran's Students News Agency reported Friday that Central Bank governor Ebrahim Sheibani said Iran had begun moving its foreign currency reserves from European banks and transferring them to an undisclosed location as protection against possible U.N. sanctions.
Sheibani backed away Saturday from his statement that the transfers were already underway, and Iran's Central Bank said there had been no change in its currency policy.
Estimates put Iranian funds in Europe at as much as $50 billion.
---_
Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
Israel has little choice - they have to do it to Iran before Iran dos it to them.
I agree. Once Iran goes nuclear Israel is in danger of being destroyed.
Israel's self-restraint is astounding. Most other nations would have nuked the Arabs until the sun looked dim in comparison.
Or like Iran in the 1950s. DUH LOL
The question is, how much time do we have? Iran may have had a few nukes slipped in by Pakistan or China for good measure. The axis of evil does not stop.
To prevent duplication, please do not alter the heading. Thanks.
Ping
The real axis of evil is Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. The only positive thing I've heard is some conjecture that Russia has finally ecided that arming Iran may not be in their best interests. May be too late for them to do anything about since they built them a nuclear program.
"Unilateral Israeli action, without provocation from Iran, could unleash a diplomatic, economic and military backlash such as the Jewish state had never witnessed since 1948, Mr. Sharon argued."
Gasp, how dare dhimmis threaten to defend themselves! You see their ulterior motives?
I hope the Izzies don't hold back. Let this wackjob see exactly who he's messing with. Hopefully, he will not survive whatever Israel hits him with. Maybe they can cut off the head of the snake at the same time.
Nah, nothing like that ever happened. WEll maybe except when we put the "Shah" in power thus pissing off half of the folks in Iran. Who just happened to be a murderous criminal type but at least he was out murderous criminal.
It would be interesting to compare the current tension between Israel & Iran and the weeks prior to Israel's attack against Iraq's nuclear reactor. Was there much news media covering the tension, etc.
I recall the incident - but the weeks prior to the attack are all fuzzy now in my memory.
Maybe I am wrong, but the current situation seems a bit more volatile. Big part is that we have our troops next to Iran, now.
Why not overthrow them first, to begin with?
We now have access to both of Iran's borders... which we wouldn't have had if Algore had won in 2000.
Once again the West is confronted by a madman at a time when he can be dispatched without catastrophic loss. We will soon see if people in high places have learned ANYTHING from history.
Israel is "warning" and "hinting." Israel might as well just announce that it will do nothing against Iran's nukes. If Israel were really prepared to act there would be no warnings, no pre-event discussion. We would wake up one morning to discover that it is DONE!
Israel's self-restraint is illusive. There is no intention to do the deed. All the talk is instead of action.
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.