Gates: Nuclear Weapons Would Make Iran Less Secure

LONDON, June 8, 2010 – If Iran were to succeed in acquiring nuclear weapons, the subsequent chain of events would make that country less secure, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.

During a news conference, both Gates and British Defense Secretary Liam Fox expressed confidence that the United Nations Security Council soon will pass a new resolution imposing sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program and that more unilateral sanctions could follow from countries concerned about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Gates said he believes it’s not too late, and that international cooperation has the potential to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

“The key here is a combination of diplomacy and pressure to persuade the Iranians that they are headed in the wrong direction in terms of their own security – that they will undermine their security by pursuit of nuclear weapons, not enhance it,” he said. “For one thing, their obtaining a nuclear weapon would almost certainly lead to proliferation of nuclear weapons elsewhere in the Middle East and a number of other countries.”

Fox said Iran is an increasingly militarized country with a hard-line, theocratic leader, and that it has shown in Iraq and Afghanistan its willingness to destabilize its neighbors.

“And thirdly, I think the overwhelming fear we have is that if Iran is to become a nuclear-weapons state, it may well be the end of [the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] as we know it,” Fox continued. “And after all that sacrifice that both of our countries made getting us to the end of the Cold War, limiting nuclear proliferation, and having celebrated last year the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we surely want to do more than leave the next generation a legacy of a new nuclear arms race in the world’s most unstable region.”

Gates said the Security Council resolution would set the stage for further action from the international community.

“One of the many benefits of the resolution is that it will provide a legal platform for individual nations to then take individual actions that go well beyond the resolution itself,” he explained. “And I believe that a number of nations are prepared to act pretty promptly. But first things, first. The key is getting the resolution.”

Fox said the resolution would make clear to Iran’s leadership that the world takes the issue seriously, and that it would send a signal to the Iranian people that the international community has a quarrel with their government’s nuclear program and not with them.

The Security Council resolution, Fox added, also would show that the series of sanctions against the Iranian leadership is not being applied by a small number of countries, but rather by “the entire global community, which is united in international law in trying to prevent what would be a major destabilization in terms of international security.”

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=59558

Obama Applauds New U.N. Sanctions on Iran

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2010 – President Barack Obama today lauded the U.N. Security Council’s decision to impose new sanctions on Iran for violating its Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations.

“This resolution will put in place the toughest sanctions ever faced by the Iranian government, and it sends an unmistakable message about the international community’s commitment to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons,” Obama said in the Diplomatic Room at the White House.

Obama noted strong international support for the sanctions, supported in a 12-2 vote by nations from the United States, Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America, including Russia and China.

“These sanctions show the united view of the international community that a nuclear arms race in the Middle East is in nobody’s interest, and that nations must be held accountable for challenging the global non-proliferation regime,” he said.

“Today’s sanctions are yet another signal that if the Iranian government continues to undermine the NPT and the peace that it protects, then Iran will find itself more isolated, less prosperous and less secure,” Obama said.
The new sanctions restrict Iran’s nuclear activities, its ballistic missile program, and, for the first time, its conventional military, the president noted. They also will put a new framework in place to stop Iranian smuggling and to crack down on Iranian banks and financial transactions.

Obama emphasized international resolution to ensuring the sanctions are “vigorously enforced.”

“Yet this day was not inevitable,” the president said, emphasizing his administration’s efforts to use diplomatic channels and engagement to address Tehran’s “deeply troubling” activities.

“We offered the opportunity of a better relationship between Iran and the international community — one that reduced Iran’s political isolation, and increased its economic integration with the rest of the world,” he said. “In short, we offered the Iranian government the prospect of a better future for its people, if — and only if — it lives up to its international obligations.”

Obama emphasized Iran’s right to access peaceful nuclear energy. “But with those rights come responsibilities,” he said. “And time and again, the Iranian government has failed to meet those responsibilities.”

The president expressed hope that Iran will change course and live up to its NPT obligations.

“These sanctions do not close the door on diplomacy. Iran continues to have the opportunity to take a different and better path,” Obama said. “I would like nothing more than to reach the day when the Iranian government fulfills its international obligations — a day when these sanctions are lifted, previous sanctions are lifted, and the Iranian people can finally fulfill the greatness of the Iranian nation.”

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.