Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Israel says it does not support any US talks with Iran, calling dialogue a sign of ‘weakness’ in efforts to end Tehran’s nuclear activities.
“We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue – in a situation where you have brought sanctions, and you then shift to dialogue – is liable to be interpreted as weakness,” Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel Radio on Thursday.
Expressing opposition with any US talks with Iran, Livni said that ‘the bottom line’ was that the US government, under Obama, should accept a nuclear Iran.
Last week, Livni said that the world had to strengthen pressure against Iran and termed UN security sanctions ‘not enough’. Her remarks came after Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama won the race for the White House on Tuesday, defeating his Republican rival John McCain.
The election of Barack Obama has raised prospects of ‘change’ in US policy across the world. Obama has promised to change the US and the world for the better.
Obama had promised ‘an unshakeable commitment’ to Israel’s security but also said he would meet with ‘any leader’ without any preconditions if it promoted US national security.
Tehran says now is the time for Barack Obama to fulfill his promises with respect to changing the US policy towards Iran.
Israel, allegedly the Middle East’s sole possessor of nuclear weapons, and the US accuse Iran of seeking a covert nuclear military program. Iran rejects the allegations as baseless, stressing it only aims to produce energy using peaceful nuclear technology.
Speculation that Israel could bomb Iran has mounted since a big Israeli air drill in June. In the first week of June, 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in an exercise over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece, which was interpreted as a dress rehearsal for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear installations.
Iran has, in return, warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.
The United States has also always stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran’s progress in the field of nuclear technology.
Iran has warned it could close the strategic Strait of Hormoz if it became the target of a military attack over its nuclear program.
Strait of Hormoz, the entrance to the strategic Persian Gulf waterway, is a major oil shipping route.
Intensified threats by Tel Aviv and Washington of military action against Iran contradict a recent report by 16 US intelligence bodies which endorsed the civilian nature of Iran’s nuclear plans and activities.
Following the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) and similar reports by the IAEA head – one in November and the other one in February – which praised Iran’s truthfulness about key aspects of its past nuclear activities and announced settlement of outstanding issues with Tehran, any effort to impose further sanctions or launch military attack on Iran seems to be completely irrational.
The February report by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, praised Iran’s cooperation in clearing up all of the past questions over its nuclear program, vindicating Iran’s nuclear program and leaving no justification for any new UN sanctions.
The UN nuclear watchdog has also carried out at least 14 surprise inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites so far, but found nothing to support West’s allegations.
Following the said reports by the US and international bodies, many world states have called the UN Security Council pressure against Tehran unjustified, demanding that Iran’s case be normalized and returned from the UNSC to the IAEA.
Meantime, a recent study by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a prestigious American think tank, has found that a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities “is unlikely” to delay the country’s program.
The ISIS study also cautioned that an attack against Iran would backfire by compelling the country to acquire nuclear weaponry.
