10.12.2009

Clinton and Sneh - sharing talking points

Israel to attack Iran if sanctions not in place by Christmas

Former Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh stated in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times that if sanctions against Iran are not in place by Christmas, Israel may attack Iran on its own. “If no crippling sanctions are introduced by Christmas, Israel will strike,” he said. “If we are left alone, we will act alone.”

Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee, rebuked Sneh’s comments on Saturday and said that “there is no explanation for Israel’s continuing threats against Tehran.”

He said he hoped the UN would take steps against such comments. "Remarks such as these, stated once in a while by Israeli leaders, are no more than sorry excuses aimed at avoiding supplying answers regarding Israel's nuclear arsenal and deflecting public awareness from the crimes and terror Israel commits in the region," he said.

Israel and some Western countries have taken a harsh line on Iran’s nuclear program, peaceful or otherwise. Khazaee also stated that “the only threat in the region is Israel’s nuclear arsenal, which remains unsupervised to this day.” Israel is believed to be the sole nuclear power in the Middle East with more than 200 nuclear heads, and it is not a signatory for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) unlike Iran which is a signatory for this treaty.

Recently, Cleric Mojtaba Zolnour, a senior leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said that Iran will “blow up the heart of the Zionist entity” if attacked by either Israel or the United States.

source : al manar


Clinton to press Russia on Iran, arms control

BELFAST, Northern Ireland — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton travels to Russia on Monday hoping to win Moscow's backing for a strong stance on Iran's nuclear program and looking for progress on a new arms control pact.

American officials say Iran will be at or near the top of Clinton's agenda when she meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. She plans to push for Russian support for new sanctions on Iran if it doesn't comply with demands to prove its nuclear program is peaceful.

On Sunday, in London on the second leg of her current five-day overseas tour, Clinton warned Iran that the world "will not wait indefinitely" for proof it is not trying to develop atomic weapons.

read more @ ap




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