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Kuwait: Widespread fear of Iran's nuclear ambitions
Ahmad Abd al-Aziz al-Jarallah, the editor of Al-Siyasa, told Adnkronos International (AKI) Kuwaitis feared the consquences if Iran's ambitions were unchecked. "Kuwaitis are not convinced that Iran wants to develop its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes and are afraid that it could develop a weapon that would damage the whole region," he said. "The Iranian nuclear plants are closer to Kuwait, only 500 kilometres from the gulf, than Tehran, 1,000 kilometres away. This gives us a clear image of the dangers that they could pose to Kuwait and Zahran in Saudi Arabia," he said. Speaking about the position of Italy with respect to seeking a solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, he said each country had to make its own considerations. "China for example, has a position that is dictated by its own interests as well as Russia, the US and Italy," he said. He said Rome is convinced that "diplomatic solutions and negotiations would yield results", as they had in North Korea and Libya. "We in Kuwait can do nothing but observe," he said. "We don't want to wake up one day and see that Iran has its first nuclear bomb, like what happened in India and Pakistan." He said the thing that made Kuwaitis happy was that these foreign countries consider Iran's nuclear project as serious as it is for Kuwait. The newspaper editor said the essence of Kuwait's difficulties with Iran was the fact that its political system contained more than one state and more than one decision-making body. He said the resignation of Ali Larijani from his position as secretary-general of the Supreme Council for National Security was due to the fact that "he had shown a precise position in his international interviews and his numerous meetings, without however convincing those in executive power in Iran of his ideas". According to Jarallah, those in-charge in Iran believe it's better to play "the card of subterfuge" at an international level. "If we look back over the years, we see a real similarity between Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a level of media control and vanity in the face of Western forces," he said. " It is not about having a battle with the US and the allied forces." Posted by: Steve White 2007-11-17 |
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