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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran urges UN response to Israeli 'threats' |
| 2008-09-11 |
| Iran warned Tuesday that it would not hesitate to act in self-defense against Israeli threats. The Islamic Republic demanded a "resolute and clear response" from the United Nations to what it called dangerous threats against it by Israel. A letter from Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described comments by two Israeli ministers as "vicious threats ... in blatant violation of the most fundamental principles of international law." Israel, which has the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, believes Iran could have a nuclear bomb by 2010; a development it says would threaten the existence of the Jewish state. Khazaee said remarks attributed to Cabinet Minister Rafi Eitan by German magazine Der Spiegel this week "yet again put on display the aggressive and terrorist nature of the Israeli regime." Der Spiegel quoted Eitan as saying in an interview that while the era of Israel hunting down former Nazi officials abroad was over, "that's not to say that such operations are a thing of the past." Asked to explain, he was quoted as saying, "It could very well be that a leader such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suddenly finds himself before the International Criminal Court in The Hague." Ahmadinejad is feared and reviled in Israel because of his repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map. His aggressive pursuit of nuclear technology has only fueled Israel's fears. Iran insists its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes. The United States, Israel and key European nations suspect its real aim is to produce atomic weapons. Last week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a televised interview that Israel was serious about using "any option" if diplomacy did not curb Iran's nuclear program. "These dangerous threats of resorting to criminal acts ... require a resolute and clear response on the part of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council," Khazaee said. "Iran, in accordance with its inherent right under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, would not hesitate to act in self-defense to respond to any attack against the Iranian nation and to take appropriate defensive measures to protect itself, its people and its officials." The Security Council has passed three rounds of sanctions against Iran because of its refusal to stop uranium enrichment, which the West fears is aimed at making atomic bombs but Tehran says is solely for power generation. Khazaee demanded "firm action" by the U.N. Security Council over the threats from Israel, regarded by Iran as one of its main enemies along with the United States. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 IRNA > LARIJANI: IRAN'S BASIC POLICY IS TO SUPPORT IRAQI INDEPENDENCE + PALESTINIAN ISSUE [Settlement/Lands + Rights + Govt] IS THE CENTRAL/CRUCIAL ISSUE OF THE MUSLIM WORLD. HMMMMM, IMO I would argue the ISLAMISTS, etc. ARE SMELLING RUSS + ASIAN "BLOOD IN THE WATER" + GOING FULL MONTY TO LEGALLY FORMALLY ENTRENCH = EXPAND THE MUSLIM-ISLAMIST [Multi]REGIONAL POSITION. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-09-11 01:17 |