kakamukubwa
JF-Expert Member
- Apr 23, 2012
- 203
- 27
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu will set out, in his
speech at the United Nations
on Thursday, an ultimatum for
Iran to halt its disputed nuclear drive or risk coming
under military attack, an
Israeli official said. Netanyahu faces the world
body after U.S. President
Barack Obama disappointed
some Israelis, in his own
address to the annual
assembly, by not calling for a deadline to be imposed on
Tehran - though he did say
time for diplomacy "is not
unlimited". Israel sees a mortal threat in a
nuclear-armed Iran and has
long threatened to strike its
arch-foe pre-emptively,
agitating war-wary world
powers as they pursue sanctions and negotiations. Complicating Netanyahu's
strategy have been his testy
relations with Obama as a U.S.
election looms, and the
reluctance of many Israelis to
trigger a conflict with Iran, which denies that it is seeking
to develop nuclear weapons
and has pledged wide-ranging
retaliation if attacked. "The prime minister will set a
clear red line in his speech
that will not contradict
Obama's remarks. Obama said
Iran won't have nuclear
weapons. The prime minister will clarify the way in which
Iran won't have nuclear
arms," a senior Israeli official
said en route to New York,
without elaborating. Though he has not previously
detailed when Israel might be
willing to go to war,
Netanyahu has said Iran could
have enough low-enriched
uranium by early 2013 to refine to a high level of fissile
purity for a first nuclear
device [ID:nL5E8KG2P5]. Israel worries that this final
step, if taken, could happen
too quickly or quietly to be
prevented. Iran has said it has no plans to
enrich uranium beyond the 20
percent purity required to run
a reactor producing medical
isotopes. That level, however,
brings raw uranium exponentially closer to the 90
percent enrichment required
for bomb fuel. Though reputed to have the
Middle East's sole nuclear
arsenal, Israel would be hard-
put to deliver lasting damage
to Iran's remote facilities
using its conventional forces, or to handle a multi-front war. WORK TOGETHER Netanyahu's public calls for a
U.S. ultimatum have deepened
acrimony with Obama, a
Democrat accused by his
Republican rivals of being soft
on the Jewish state's security. That has stirred American
accusations of Israeli
meddling in the November
presidential elections -
something denied by
Netanyahu. "The prime minister will say
that Israel and the United
States can work together to
achieve their common goal,"
said the Israeli official on
condition of anonymity. Netanyahu, who heads a
broad-based, conservative
coalition government,
departed for New York on
Wednesday saying he would
take the U.N. podium for an Israel "united in the goal of
preventing Iran from
achieving nuclear weaponry". But surveys show that most
Israelis - apparently swayed
by the open dissent of several
senior national-security
figures - would oppose
launching unilateral strikes on Iran, given the risk of
alienating Washington and of
provoking clashes with
Tehran's Islamist militant
allies in Lebanon and Gaza. A poll published by the liberal
Haaretz newspaper on
Thursday found that 50
percent of Israelis feared for
the survival of their country,
should there be a conflict. Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, in his speech to
the General Assembly on
Wednesday, said Iran was
under threat of military action
from "uncivilized Zionists," a clear reference to Israel.
Earlier this week,
Ahmadinejad said that Israel
would eventually be
"eliminated." Haaretz also ran excerpts from
a leaked Foreign Ministry
report that sanctions had
caused greater damage to
Iran's economy than
anticipated by Israel. The findings, confirmed to
Reuters by an Israeli official,
could undermine any attempt
by Netanyahu to argue that
the military alternative must
be considered imminently. Israeli opposition leader Shaul
Mofaz criticized Netanyahu for
sparring with Obama and
voiced confidence in U.S.
resolve. "I am convinced that the
United States, the president of
the United States, is
determined to prevent Iran
going nuclear," Mofaz told
Israel's Army Radio. Even within Netanyahu's
coalition there have been
misgivings about the pitch of
disagreement with the United
States. Danny Ayalon, deputy to
Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman, described Obama's
Iran remarks at the United
Nations as "important, albeit
measured". Speaking on Israel Radio,
Ayalon said the Netanyahu
government and Obama
administration were in
discreet contacts and
approaching agreement on setting limits for Iran. (Writing by Dan Williams;
Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu will set out, in his
speech at the United Nations
on Thursday, an ultimatum for
Iran to halt its disputed nuclear drive or risk coming
under military attack, an
Israeli official said. Netanyahu faces the world
body after U.S. President
Barack Obama disappointed
some Israelis, in his own
address to the annual
assembly, by not calling for a deadline to be imposed on
Tehran - though he did say
time for diplomacy "is not
unlimited". Israel sees a mortal threat in a
nuclear-armed Iran and has
long threatened to strike its
arch-foe pre-emptively,
agitating war-wary world
powers as they pursue sanctions and negotiations. Complicating Netanyahu's
strategy have been his testy
relations with Obama as a U.S.
election looms, and the
reluctance of many Israelis to
trigger a conflict with Iran, which denies that it is seeking
to develop nuclear weapons
and has pledged wide-ranging
retaliation if attacked. "The prime minister will set a
clear red line in his speech
that will not contradict
Obama's remarks. Obama said
Iran won't have nuclear
weapons. The prime minister will clarify the way in which
Iran won't have nuclear
arms," a senior Israeli official
said en route to New York,
without elaborating. Though he has not previously
detailed when Israel might be
willing to go to war,
Netanyahu has said Iran could
have enough low-enriched
uranium by early 2013 to refine to a high level of fissile
purity for a first nuclear
device [ID:nL5E8KG2P5]. Israel worries that this final
step, if taken, could happen
too quickly or quietly to be
prevented. Iran has said it has no plans to
enrich uranium beyond the 20
percent purity required to run
a reactor producing medical
isotopes. That level, however,
brings raw uranium exponentially closer to the 90
percent enrichment required
for bomb fuel. Though reputed to have the
Middle East's sole nuclear
arsenal, Israel would be hard-
put to deliver lasting damage
to Iran's remote facilities
using its conventional forces, or to handle a multi-front war. WORK TOGETHER Netanyahu's public calls for a
U.S. ultimatum have deepened
acrimony with Obama, a
Democrat accused by his
Republican rivals of being soft
on the Jewish state's security. That has stirred American
accusations of Israeli
meddling in the November
presidential elections -
something denied by
Netanyahu. "The prime minister will say
that Israel and the United
States can work together to
achieve their common goal,"
said the Israeli official on
condition of anonymity. Netanyahu, who heads a
broad-based, conservative
coalition government,
departed for New York on
Wednesday saying he would
take the U.N. podium for an Israel "united in the goal of
preventing Iran from
achieving nuclear weaponry". But surveys show that most
Israelis - apparently swayed
by the open dissent of several
senior national-security
figures - would oppose
launching unilateral strikes on Iran, given the risk of
alienating Washington and of
provoking clashes with
Tehran's Islamist militant
allies in Lebanon and Gaza. A poll published by the liberal
Haaretz newspaper on
Thursday found that 50
percent of Israelis feared for
the survival of their country,
should there be a conflict. Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, in his speech to
the General Assembly on
Wednesday, said Iran was
under threat of military action
from "uncivilized Zionists," a clear reference to Israel.
Earlier this week,
Ahmadinejad said that Israel
would eventually be
"eliminated." Haaretz also ran excerpts from
a leaked Foreign Ministry
report that sanctions had
caused greater damage to
Iran's economy than
anticipated by Israel. The findings, confirmed to
Reuters by an Israeli official,
could undermine any attempt
by Netanyahu to argue that
the military alternative must
be considered imminently. Israeli opposition leader Shaul
Mofaz criticized Netanyahu for
sparring with Obama and
voiced confidence in U.S.
resolve. "I am convinced that the
United States, the president of
the United States, is
determined to prevent Iran
going nuclear," Mofaz told
Israel's Army Radio. Even within Netanyahu's
coalition there have been
misgivings about the pitch of
disagreement with the United
States. Danny Ayalon, deputy to
Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman, described Obama's
Iran remarks at the United
Nations as "important, albeit
measured". Speaking on Israel Radio,
Ayalon said the Netanyahu
government and Obama
administration were in
discreet contacts and
approaching agreement on setting limits for Iran. (Writing by Dan Williams;
Editing by Angus MacSwan)