http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-1-2005_pg4_15
Iran at point of nuclear no-return, says Mofaz
PARIS: Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has told French lawmakers
that Iran is at “the point of no-return” on building nuclear weapons,
according to a transcript of his remarks to the National Assembly made
public on Friday.
Mofaz, who warned openly in London this week that Iran would not be
permitted to build a nuclear bomb, has in the past said that Israel
has operational plans in place for a strike against Iranian targets.
Mofaz told the French National Assembly’s defence commission that “he
ardently hoped that a recourse to military action would not be
necessary” in Iran, according the transcript of the Tuesday meeting.
But he said that to avoid this, there would have to be careful
inspections aimed at removing any ambiguity about the existence of a
military nuclear project.
Even if Iran recognised Israel’s existence, Mofaz said “the possession
of a nuclear weapon by an extremist regime is not acceptable.” “The
danger is great,” he said. “The possession of non-conventional weapons
could allow Iran to carry out terrorist actions with complete impunity
and destabilise the free world.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned
earlier this week that any attack against the country would be met
with an “astonishing” retaliation.
The Islamic republic also responded to the Israeli allegations that it
was close to developing a nuclear weapon, saying the latest
accusations were designed to shift attention away from Israel’s own
weapons and its “terror” against Palestinians.
While Iran insists its nuclear activities are strictly peaceful,
Britain, France and Germany have been engaged in diplomatic efforts to
secure long-term guarantees that the Tehran regime will not seek the
bomb. Mofaz, an outspoken and hawkish former army chief-of-staff who
was responsible for adopting increasingly tough measures against the
Palestinian intifada, told the defence commission that controls on
Iranian nuclear activities by the International Atomic Energy Agency
were “largely insufficient.” afp
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