Free Republic

In an interview Thursday morning, Defense Minister Ehud Barak sounded somewhat more pessimistic on the likelihood that the international community could stop Iran's nuclear program with sanctions than he did in an interview on American TV a day earlier. Speaking on Israel Radio, Barak said that although Israel was trying to convince members of the international community to economically isolate Iran, he did not think that effort would work. Despite his pessimism, he said, Israel needed to continue working through diplomatic channels – and avoid the alternative. On Wednesday, Barak had told American interviewer Charlie Rose that it was in...

World powers are close to overcoming their differences on what message the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will send to Iran when its board of governors meets Thursday, diplomats told AFP on Wednesday. According to the reports, diplomats to the IAEA in Vienna were “close, but not there yet” to agreeing on a resolution amenable to all the main powers, including Russia and China. One diplomat told AFP that the resolution “will call on Iran to intensify dialogue with the agency and comply fully with its obligations. It also calls on the director general to report in March on the...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak reiterated on Wednesday that a nuclear Iran would have dangerous consequences on the Middle East and the entire world. In an interview on the Charlie Rose Show on PBS, Barak said that the recent IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program left no room for mistakes regarding Iran’s intentions. “It’s clear that they are determined to reach nuclear capability,” Barak said. “None of the series of experiments that they were running can be explained other than their pursuing a nuclear military capability. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...