Iran supreme leader blames West for bombing
The Associated Press
Friday, December 17, 2010; 12:59 PM
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's supreme leader on Friday blamed the West for a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque this week, saying the country's enemies were trying to divide Muslims and halt its nuclear activities.
The armed Sunni militant group Jundallah, or Soldiers of God, has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's double bombing outside a Shiite mosque in the southeastern port city of Chahbahar near the Pakistan border, which killed 39 people.
In a condolence message read during funeral ceremonies for the victims, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed the attack on "arrogant powers," a reference to the United States and its allies.
"The people have perceived the goals of the enemy and realized that the arrogant powers do not want the Islamic world to have pride or leadership," he said, according to the state news agency IRNA. "The enemies do not want the unity of Muslims ... They do not want to see uranium enrichment in our country."
He did not elaborate on the connection. Iran has often accused the United States and its allies of supporting Jundallah in hopes of causing instability in Iran, a claim Washington has denied. The U.S. and other countries condemned Wednesday's attack, and the United States designated Jundallah a terrorist organization earlier this year.
Jundallah has carried out a series of deadly attacks on the military and civilians in eastern Iran over the past years, and said the latest attack was to avenge the hanging of its leader Abdulmalik Rigi earlier this year.
The United Nations has demanded Iran halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for a nuclear reactor or material for a warhead. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of secretly trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran denies the claim, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and that it has a right to enrich uranium.
State TV showed footage of the funeral ceremonies, including photos of the victims. At least three of them wore uniforms, apparently policemen.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn....39.html
Next stop: Iran
U.S. and Allies Plan More Sanctions Against Iran
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: December 10, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s chief nuclear adviser said Friday that the United States and its allies planned new sanctions against Iran, part of an effort to test “how high Iran’s pain threshold is” and force the country into suspending its production of nuclear fuel.
The comments by Gary Samore, Mr. Obama’s coordinator for weapons of mass destruction, came three days after talks with Iranian officials adjourned with no progress.
By rapidly escalating economic pressure, White House officials say, they hope to raise the cost for the Iranian leadership of letting the talks drag on, but it is also possible, some concede, that the Iranians could react by pulling out of the discussions altogether. The conversation in Geneva this week was the first in a year, and is supposed to be followed by more talks next month, probably in Turkey.
Mr. Samore suggested that Iran may have decided to resume talks with members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany “because it believes it can manipulate the appearance of negotiations to weaken existing sanctions and avoid additional measures.”
“This ploy will not work,” he said. “In the wake of the Geneva talks, we and our allies are determined to maintain and even increase pressure. We need to send the message to Iran that sanctions will only increase if Iran avoids serious negotiations and will not be lifted until our concerns are fully addressed.”
Mr. Samore was not specific about the sanctions being contemplated.
Washington’s options are somewhat limited. Many Europeans are reluctant to back the one step – limiting Iran’s oil exports – that most of the allies believe would really hurt the regime because a true embargo would ripple through the world economy. The White House has been reluctant to impose curbs on the delivery of refined petroleum to Iran, for fear that gasoline shortages would make ordinary Iranians more angry at the West than at their own government.
The current sanctions, imposed by the Security Council in the spring and built upon by the United States, the Europeans, Japan and Australia, are making it increasingly difficult for Iranian businesses and the government to conduct banking operations around the world, to get insurance for shipping lines and to refuel airliners at some airports in Europe.
But these sanctions have yet to persuade Iran’s leadership to heed the Security Council’s demands that the country stop enriching uranium and answer a series of questions from international nuclear inspectors.
Mr. Samore expressed optimism that the calculus could be changed. “I think what Iran is prepared to do will depend on their cost/benefit analysis,” he said. “If the costs and the risks are high enough, they will accept suspension.”
Some other Iran experts have disagreed, arguing that that the country’s senior leadership, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, are less likely to give in under pressure.
Mr. Samore has been coordinating the effort to delay and ultimately derail Iran’s nuclear program. In recent weeks he has said that if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, it could trigger proliferation throughout the Middle East and undermine Mr. Obama’s efforts to nudge the world toward a reduction in nuclear stockpiles.
Asked about the effects of the Stuxnet computer worm, which appears to have been directed at disrupting Iran’s centrifuges, Mr. Samore was careful to avoid saying who might have been responsible for the attack.
But he added with a smile, “I’m glad to hear they are having troubles with their centrifuge machines, and the U.S. and its allies are doing everything we can to make it more complicated.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010...._r=1&hp
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: December 10, 2010
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s chief nuclear adviser said Friday that the United States and its allies planned new sanctions against Iran, part of an effort to test “how high Iran’s pain threshold is” and force the country into suspending its production of nuclear fuel.
The comments by Gary Samore, Mr. Obama’s coordinator for weapons of mass destruction, came three days after talks with Iranian officials adjourned with no progress.
By rapidly escalating economic pressure, White House officials say, they hope to raise the cost for the Iranian leadership of letting the talks drag on, but it is also possible, some concede, that the Iranians could react by pulling out of the discussions altogether. The conversation in Geneva this week was the first in a year, and is supposed to be followed by more talks next month, probably in Turkey.
Mr. Samore suggested that Iran may have decided to resume talks with members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany “because it believes it can manipulate the appearance of negotiations to weaken existing sanctions and avoid additional measures.”
“This ploy will not work,” he said. “In the wake of the Geneva talks, we and our allies are determined to maintain and even increase pressure. We need to send the message to Iran that sanctions will only increase if Iran avoids serious negotiations and will not be lifted until our concerns are fully addressed.”
Mr. Samore was not specific about the sanctions being contemplated.
Washington’s options are somewhat limited. Many Europeans are reluctant to back the one step – limiting Iran’s oil exports – that most of the allies believe would really hurt the regime because a true embargo would ripple through the world economy. The White House has been reluctant to impose curbs on the delivery of refined petroleum to Iran, for fear that gasoline shortages would make ordinary Iranians more angry at the West than at their own government.
The current sanctions, imposed by the Security Council in the spring and built upon by the United States, the Europeans, Japan and Australia, are making it increasingly difficult for Iranian businesses and the government to conduct banking operations around the world, to get insurance for shipping lines and to refuel airliners at some airports in Europe.
But these sanctions have yet to persuade Iran’s leadership to heed the Security Council’s demands that the country stop enriching uranium and answer a series of questions from international nuclear inspectors.
Mr. Samore expressed optimism that the calculus could be changed. “I think what Iran is prepared to do will depend on their cost/benefit analysis,” he said. “If the costs and the risks are high enough, they will accept suspension.”
Some other Iran experts have disagreed, arguing that that the country’s senior leadership, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, are less likely to give in under pressure.
Mr. Samore has been coordinating the effort to delay and ultimately derail Iran’s nuclear program. In recent weeks he has said that if Iran obtained a nuclear weapon, it could trigger proliferation throughout the Middle East and undermine Mr. Obama’s efforts to nudge the world toward a reduction in nuclear stockpiles.
Asked about the effects of the Stuxnet computer worm, which appears to have been directed at disrupting Iran’s centrifuges, Mr. Samore was careful to avoid saying who might have been responsible for the attack.
But he added with a smile, “I’m glad to hear they are having troubles with their centrifuge machines, and the U.S. and its allies are doing everything we can to make it more complicated.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010...._r=1&hp
US Sen. Lindsey Graham calls for major attack on Iran "Neuter Iran"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AavprflIOw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AavprflIOw
Israeli PM : Its time for military action against Iran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAhLSgA47ik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAhLSgA47ik
Obama, Ahmadinejad trade barbs over 9/11
By MATTHEW LEE (AP)
NEW YORK — President Barack Obama and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traded heated remarks Friday on the emotional subject of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and hopes for a quick resumption of talks on Iran's suspect nuclear program appeared to fade.
Obama accused Ahmadinejad of making "offensive" and "hateful" comments when he said most of the world thinks the United States was behind the attacks to benefit Israel. The Iranian president defended his remarks from a day earlier at the United Nations General Assembly and suggested that a fact-finding panel be created by the U.N. to look into who was behind them.
"It was offensive," Obama said in an interview with the Persian service of the BBC that was to be broadcast to the Iranian people. "It was hateful."
"And particularly for him to make the statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of ground zero, where families lost their loved ones, people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation, for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable," Obama said.
Obama said Ahmadinejad's remarks will make the American people even more wary about dealing with his government.
"For Ahmadinejad to come to somebody else's country and then to suggest somehow that the worst tragedy that's been experienced here, an attack that killed 3,000 people, was somehow the responsibility of the government of that country, is something that defies not just common sense but basic sense — basic senses of decency that aren't unique to any particular country — they're common to the entire world," he said
In a news conference at a Manhattan hotel, Ahmadinejad shot back, saying he had not made any judgments about who was responsible for 9/11 and lashed out at the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as an overreaction to the attacks.
"I did not pass judgment, but don't you feel that the time has come to have a fact finding committee," he said of his General Assembly address that prompted the U.S. delegation to walk out of the session along with those from all 27 European Union nations, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Costa Rica. . .
http://www.google.com/hostedn....IEHDM00
By MATTHEW LEE (AP)
NEW YORK — President Barack Obama and Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traded heated remarks Friday on the emotional subject of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and hopes for a quick resumption of talks on Iran's suspect nuclear program appeared to fade.
Obama accused Ahmadinejad of making "offensive" and "hateful" comments when he said most of the world thinks the United States was behind the attacks to benefit Israel. The Iranian president defended his remarks from a day earlier at the United Nations General Assembly and suggested that a fact-finding panel be created by the U.N. to look into who was behind them.
"It was offensive," Obama said in an interview with the Persian service of the BBC that was to be broadcast to the Iranian people. "It was hateful."
"And particularly for him to make the statement here in Manhattan, just a little north of ground zero, where families lost their loved ones, people of all faiths, all ethnicities who see this as the seminal tragedy of this generation, for him to make a statement like that was inexcusable," Obama said.
Obama said Ahmadinejad's remarks will make the American people even more wary about dealing with his government.
"For Ahmadinejad to come to somebody else's country and then to suggest somehow that the worst tragedy that's been experienced here, an attack that killed 3,000 people, was somehow the responsibility of the government of that country, is something that defies not just common sense but basic sense — basic senses of decency that aren't unique to any particular country — they're common to the entire world," he said
In a news conference at a Manhattan hotel, Ahmadinejad shot back, saying he had not made any judgments about who was responsible for 9/11 and lashed out at the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as an overreaction to the attacks.
"I did not pass judgment, but don't you feel that the time has come to have a fact finding committee," he said of his General Assembly address that prompted the U.S. delegation to walk out of the session along with those from all 27 European Union nations, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Costa Rica. . .
http://www.google.com/hostedn....IEHDM00
Obama says military action against Iran not ideal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that Iran having a nuclear weapon would be a "real problem" but he did not think military action by Israel or the United States was the "ideal way" to solve the crisis.
The United Nations Security Council, along with the United States and the European Union, have imposed tougher sanctions on Iran, which has defied international calls for it to halt uranium enrichment.
Iran says it needs the enriched uranium for the peaceful generation of electricity, but the United States and its allies, including Israel, fear Tehran's nuclear program is a cover to build an atomic bomb.
"We continue to be open to diplomatic solutions to resolve this," Obama told a town-hall style meeting on CNBC.
"We don't think that a war between Israel and Iran or military options would be the ideal way to solve this problem. But we are keeping all our options on the table," he said.
U.S. military commanders have also warned that U.S. or Israeli military strikes against Iran could spark retaliatory action by Tehran and proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza strip that could destabilize the region.
(Reporting by Ross Colvin and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68J3LO20100920
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that Iran having a nuclear weapon would be a "real problem" but he did not think military action by Israel or the United States was the "ideal way" to solve the crisis.
The United Nations Security Council, along with the United States and the European Union, have imposed tougher sanctions on Iran, which has defied international calls for it to halt uranium enrichment.
Iran says it needs the enriched uranium for the peaceful generation of electricity, but the United States and its allies, including Israel, fear Tehran's nuclear program is a cover to build an atomic bomb.
"We continue to be open to diplomatic solutions to resolve this," Obama told a town-hall style meeting on CNBC.
"We don't think that a war between Israel and Iran or military options would be the ideal way to solve this problem. But we are keeping all our options on the table," he said.
U.S. military commanders have also warned that U.S. or Israeli military strikes against Iran could spark retaliatory action by Tehran and proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza strip that could destabilize the region.
(Reporting by Ross Colvin and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68J3LO20100920
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair calls for war against Iran:
Tony Blair Takes Hawkish Stance On Iran
(NewsCore) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday he would not exclude any option – including military action – against Iran if it were to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Blair told host Christiane Amanpour that if he were in charge today and Iran got a nuclear weapon, “I would tell them they can't have it, and if necessary, they will be confronted with stronger sanctions and diplomacy. But if that fails, I'm not taking any option off the table.”
Asked if that included a military option, he replied, “I don't want to see it, but I'm saying you cannot exclude it, because the primary -- the primary objective has got to be to prevent them getting a nuclear weapon.”
Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has never ruled out a military strike to prevent Iran acquiring atomic weapons, an ambition Tehran strongly denies.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday during a visit to the Gulf state of Qatar that any attack on the Islamic republic would result in the destruction of Israel.
Iran has begun loading nuclear fuel in its Russian-built first nuclear power plant located in the southern port of Bushehr. It insists it needs nuclear power for a rapidly growing population and for when its fossil fuels eventually run out.
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpps....9504273
Tony Blair Takes Hawkish Stance On Iran
(NewsCore) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Sunday he would not exclude any option – including military action – against Iran if it were to acquire a nuclear weapon.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Blair told host Christiane Amanpour that if he were in charge today and Iran got a nuclear weapon, “I would tell them they can't have it, and if necessary, they will be confronted with stronger sanctions and diplomacy. But if that fails, I'm not taking any option off the table.”
Asked if that included a military option, he replied, “I don't want to see it, but I'm saying you cannot exclude it, because the primary -- the primary objective has got to be to prevent them getting a nuclear weapon.”
Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has never ruled out a military strike to prevent Iran acquiring atomic weapons, an ambition Tehran strongly denies.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday during a visit to the Gulf state of Qatar that any attack on the Islamic republic would result in the destruction of Israel.
Iran has begun loading nuclear fuel in its Russian-built first nuclear power plant located in the southern port of Bushehr. It insists it needs nuclear power for a rapidly growing population and for when its fossil fuels eventually run out.
http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpps....9504273
Russia Will Begin Loading Fuel Into Iran's First Nuclear Plant Next Week
By Yuriy Humber
Iran’s first nuclear power plant will start operating Aug. 21, with electricity generation to begin “several months later,” said Rosatom Corp., the Russian state nuclear holding company building the facility.
“On the 21st, nuclear fuel will be delivered to the reactor storage facility and from that moment on the plant can be certified as a nuclear power installation,” Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov said by phone in Moscow. “This means the end of the test phase. Power generation will begin several months later.”
Rosatom unit ZAO Atomstroyexport took over construction of the Bushehr plant after Russia signed a $1 billion contract for the project in 1995.
The Persian Gulf nation is under four sets of United Nations sanctions because of its nuclear program, which the U.S. and many of its allies say is aimed at creating a weapon. Iran, the second-largest oil producer in the Middle East, denies the allegation, saying it needs nuclear energy for civilian purposes, such as generating electricity.
Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who is in charge of the country’s atomic energy agency, confirmed that the process of loading fuel into the reactor will begin next week, the state-run Iranian Students News Agency reported.
IAEA Present
The uranium fuel is enriched to between 1.6 and 3.6 percent and sealed, according to ISNA. Uranium enriched above a 20 percent concentration is defined as highly enriched, which can set off the chain reaction seen in a nuclear explosion. Most modern atomic weapons contain around 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of the heavy metal enriched to 90 percent.
Iran has invited the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, to oversee the fuel transfer, Salehi told ISNA.
“For unsealing them, IAEA inspectors will be present,” ISNA cited Salehi as saying.
About 165 fuel complexes, weighing 82 tons, will be fed into the reactor in a period of about 10 days, ISNA reported.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news....ek.html
By Yuriy Humber
Iran’s first nuclear power plant will start operating Aug. 21, with electricity generation to begin “several months later,” said Rosatom Corp., the Russian state nuclear holding company building the facility.
“On the 21st, nuclear fuel will be delivered to the reactor storage facility and from that moment on the plant can be certified as a nuclear power installation,” Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov said by phone in Moscow. “This means the end of the test phase. Power generation will begin several months later.”
Rosatom unit ZAO Atomstroyexport took over construction of the Bushehr plant after Russia signed a $1 billion contract for the project in 1995.
The Persian Gulf nation is under four sets of United Nations sanctions because of its nuclear program, which the U.S. and many of its allies say is aimed at creating a weapon. Iran, the second-largest oil producer in the Middle East, denies the allegation, saying it needs nuclear energy for civilian purposes, such as generating electricity.
Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi, who is in charge of the country’s atomic energy agency, confirmed that the process of loading fuel into the reactor will begin next week, the state-run Iranian Students News Agency reported.
IAEA Present
The uranium fuel is enriched to between 1.6 and 3.6 percent and sealed, according to ISNA. Uranium enriched above a 20 percent concentration is defined as highly enriched, which can set off the chain reaction seen in a nuclear explosion. Most modern atomic weapons contain around 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of the heavy metal enriched to 90 percent.
Iran has invited the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, to oversee the fuel transfer, Salehi told ISNA.
“For unsealing them, IAEA inspectors will be present,” ISNA cited Salehi as saying.
About 165 fuel complexes, weighing 82 tons, will be fed into the reactor in a period of about 10 days, ISNA reported.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news....ek.html
US shares Medvedev worries on Iran
WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday saluted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's criticism of Iran and said it shared concerns that the Islamic republic could reach a "tipping point" in its nuclear drive.
Medvedev said that Iran was close to having the potential to build a nuclear weapon, the clearest sign yet of alarm about Tehran's atomic drive from Russia -- which in the past has taken a milder line than Western powers.
"This is just indicative of the cooperation and shared perspective that the United States and Russia have reached on this issue," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
Crowley said that Iran's continued pursuit of sensitive uranium enrichment work was narrowing the "leap from a civilian program to a military program."
"We have definite concerns that if this trajectory continues, that Iran will at some point approach that moment -- that tipping point, if you will -- where it has a de facto military capability," he said.
"We are doing everything in our power to delay and deter that moment from occurring," he said. "All countries have a special obligation to do everything that they can to convince Iran to move in a different direction."
Iran's clerical regime says that its atomic drive is solely for peaceful means, but Western powers -- and increasingly Russia -- worry that it is bent on developing a nuclear weapon.
President Barack Obama's administration has worked to repair relations with Russia after years of growing friction. Obama welcomed Medvedev for a friendly visit last month that included a choreographed trip to a burger joint.
http://www.google.com/hostedn....6oVtm3w
Edited By Greg on 1278966925
WASHINGTON — The United States on Monday saluted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's criticism of Iran and said it shared concerns that the Islamic republic could reach a "tipping point" in its nuclear drive.
Medvedev said that Iran was close to having the potential to build a nuclear weapon, the clearest sign yet of alarm about Tehran's atomic drive from Russia -- which in the past has taken a milder line than Western powers.
"This is just indicative of the cooperation and shared perspective that the United States and Russia have reached on this issue," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
Crowley said that Iran's continued pursuit of sensitive uranium enrichment work was narrowing the "leap from a civilian program to a military program."
"We have definite concerns that if this trajectory continues, that Iran will at some point approach that moment -- that tipping point, if you will -- where it has a de facto military capability," he said.
"We are doing everything in our power to delay and deter that moment from occurring," he said. "All countries have a special obligation to do everything that they can to convince Iran to move in a different direction."
Iran's clerical regime says that its atomic drive is solely for peaceful means, but Western powers -- and increasingly Russia -- worry that it is bent on developing a nuclear weapon.
President Barack Obama's administration has worked to repair relations with Russia after years of growing friction. Obama welcomed Medvedev for a friendly visit last month that included a choreographed trip to a burger joint.
http://www.google.com/hostedn....6oVtm3w
Edited By Greg on 1278966925
Obama says Israel unlikely to surprise US with Iran attack
By Gavin Rabinowitz (AFP)
JERUSALEM — US President Barack Obama said in an Israeli TV interview broadcast on Thursday it is highly unlikely the Jewish state would surprise Washington with an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"It is unacceptable for Iran to posses nuclear weapons and we are going to do everything we can to prevent that happening," Obama told Israel's Channel 2 television in the interview taped on Wednesday.
"I think the relationship between the US and Israel is sufficiently strong that neither of us try to surprise each other," he said, when asked if he was concerned Israel could catch the US off guard with an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"We try to coordinate on issues of mutual concern and that approach is one Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu is committed to," Obama said.
Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, regards Iran as its principal threat after repeated predictions by the Islamic republic's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise.
Along with the West, it suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a claim Tehran denies.
Israel has backed US-led efforts to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability through sanctions, but has also refused to rule out military force.
In 1981, Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor and reportedly also attacked a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007.
Obama said despite Iranian denials, "all indicators are they are pursuing nuclear weapons," and preventing this was a priority for him.
"The single most important threat to Israel, Iran and its potential possession of a nuclear weapon, has been my number one foreign policy priority in the last 18 months," the US president said.
"We will continue to keep the door open for a diplomatic resolution of this challenge," he said, adding that "I assure you I have not taken options off the table."
Iran insists its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation and medical research and says the international community should focus its attention on Israel, which, unlike Iran, is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that new sanctions recently slapped on his country by Western nations would not alter Tehran's nuclear programme.
No matter how many sanctions resolutions are approved, "there will be no minor change in our nuclear programme," he said through a translator after attending a summit in Nigeria.
"Those resolutions are only paper. What's going to shape our future is our determination."
Obama gave the interview, his first to an Israeli channel since taking office, during a visit to the United States by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been hailed as a fence-mending trip between the two leaders.
http://www.google.com/hostedn....wtjUqgw
By Gavin Rabinowitz (AFP)
JERUSALEM — US President Barack Obama said in an Israeli TV interview broadcast on Thursday it is highly unlikely the Jewish state would surprise Washington with an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"It is unacceptable for Iran to posses nuclear weapons and we are going to do everything we can to prevent that happening," Obama told Israel's Channel 2 television in the interview taped on Wednesday.
"I think the relationship between the US and Israel is sufficiently strong that neither of us try to surprise each other," he said, when asked if he was concerned Israel could catch the US off guard with an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"We try to coordinate on issues of mutual concern and that approach is one Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu is committed to," Obama said.
Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, regards Iran as its principal threat after repeated predictions by the Islamic republic's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise.
Along with the West, it suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear programme, a claim Tehran denies.
Israel has backed US-led efforts to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability through sanctions, but has also refused to rule out military force.
In 1981, Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor and reportedly also attacked a suspected Syrian nuclear facility in 2007.
Obama said despite Iranian denials, "all indicators are they are pursuing nuclear weapons," and preventing this was a priority for him.
"The single most important threat to Israel, Iran and its potential possession of a nuclear weapon, has been my number one foreign policy priority in the last 18 months," the US president said.
"We will continue to keep the door open for a diplomatic resolution of this challenge," he said, adding that "I assure you I have not taken options off the table."
Iran insists its nuclear programme is aimed solely at power generation and medical research and says the international community should focus its attention on Israel, which, unlike Iran, is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that new sanctions recently slapped on his country by Western nations would not alter Tehran's nuclear programme.
No matter how many sanctions resolutions are approved, "there will be no minor change in our nuclear programme," he said through a translator after attending a summit in Nigeria.
"Those resolutions are only paper. What's going to shape our future is our determination."
Obama gave the interview, his first to an Israeli channel since taking office, during a visit to the United States by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been hailed as a fence-mending trip between the two leaders.
http://www.google.com/hostedn....wtjUqgw
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Sonic Youth
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OscarGuy
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It used to be a given that war helped bolster the economy, but these days such isn't the case. I wish these people would get that "War Is Good for the Economy" mindset out of politics since obviously it's not doing much with war in Iraq and Afghanistan in operation.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
Sen. Lieberman says force may be needed in Iran
JERUSALEM — U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman says there is a broad consensus in Congress that military force can be used if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Lieberman cites a recent set of sanctions passed by Congress against Iran as a potential deterrent. But he insists that the goal of keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear power will be accomplished "through diplomatic and economic sanctions if we possibly can, through military actions if we must."
The Connecticut senator spoke Wednesday in Jerusalem, where he was visiting with fellow senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Israel, the U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of trying to develop an atomic weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian use.
http://www.google.com/hostedn....GQ8RV80
JERUSALEM — U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman says there is a broad consensus in Congress that military force can be used if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Lieberman cites a recent set of sanctions passed by Congress against Iran as a potential deterrent. But he insists that the goal of keeping Iran from becoming a nuclear power will be accomplished "through diplomatic and economic sanctions if we possibly can, through military actions if we must."
The Connecticut senator spoke Wednesday in Jerusalem, where he was visiting with fellow senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Israel, the U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of trying to develop an atomic weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian use.
http://www.google.com/hostedn....GQ8RV80