http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3392951,00.html
Missile raid would hit Iran nuclear plans - Olmert
Prime minister tells Germany=E2=80=99s Focus magazine Islamic Republic=E2=
=80=99s
disputed nuclear program could be severely damaged by firing 1,000
cruise missiles in 10-day attack; =E2=80=98nobody ruling military action ou=
t,=E2=80=99
he says; PM's Office: Interview never took place
Gil Yaron Latest Update: 04.28.07, 17:03 / Israel News
Iran=E2=80=99s disputed nuclear program could be severely hit by firing 1,0=
00
cruise missiles in a 10-day attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
was quoted as saying on Saturday.
Asked in an interview with Germany=E2=80=99s Focus magazine whether military
action would be an option if Iran continued to defy the United
Nations, Olmert said: =E2=80=9CNobody is ruling it out.=E2=80=9D
Overcoming Technical Difficulties
Iranian bomb within 3 years, expert says / Ynet
New intelligence report estimates Tehran has overcome technical
difficulties in enriching uranium and could have enough bomb-grade
material for a single nuclear weapon by 2010, CBS reports
The full interview with the prime minister will be published Sunday.
Focus magazine told Ynet that the interview took place last Wednesday,
but sources close to the prime minister said the magazine=E2=80=99s reporter
was invited to the Prime Minister=E2=80=99s Office for a closed meeting only
as a representative of the New York Times and London-based Arabic-
language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.
The sources denied that Olmert made the remarks.
=E2=80=9CIt is impossible perhaps to destroy the entire nuclear program but=
it
would be possible to damage it in such a way that it would be set back
years,=E2=80=9D Olmert was quoted by the magazine as saying.
=E2=80=9CIt would take 10 days and would involve the firing of 1,000 Tomaha=
wk
cruise missiles.=E2=80=9D
MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) criticized Olmert's comments. =E2=80=9CHis carele=
ss
behavior with the German press is very serious. The prime minister is
again acting recklessly in his declarations of bombs and missiles,
while severly damaging Israel=E2=80=99s security,=E2=80=9D Steinitz said.
Iran says it is developing nuclear technology for power generation,
but the West fears it is trying to build a bomb and two sets of UN
sanctions have been imposed on Tehran.
'Ability to enrich on an industrial scale'
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Washington on
Friday to speak directly to Iran over its nuclear program and said he
was sure Tehran was ready for such talks.
Focus quoted Olmert as saying UN sanctions should be given a chance to
work before military action was considered.
=E2=80=9CWe must give the (UN) process time to take effect,=E2=80=9D he sai=
d=2E =E2=80=9CWe have
no intention of attacking Iran at the moment.=E2=80=9D
Olmert said he doubted whether Iran=E2=80=99s nuclear program was as far
advanced as Tehran said.
=E2=80=9CI don=E2=80=99t think that Iran is about to cross the nuclear tech=
nology
threshold as its leaders claim,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CWe still have ti=
me to stop
them.=E2=80=9D
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has proclaimed Iran=E2=80=99s ability=
to
enrich on an =E2=80=9Cindustrial scale=E2=80=9D, but UN inspectors say it r=
emains at
test level.
Iran would face further sanctions if it has not stopped enrichment by
a new Security Council deadline of May 24.
The prime minister also warned of possible ramifications of an attack
on Iran, saying it would =E2=80=9Cmake the entire Iranian nation our enemy,
turn other Muslim countries against us and cause even greater
problems.=E2=80=9D
Turning his attention to the Saudi peace initiative, the prime
minister said it could only serve as a starting point for future
negotiations due to some of its =E2=80=9Ccontradictory=E2=80=9D clauses, su=
ch as the
right of return.
=E2=80=9CDo they want the Jewish state to commit suicide?=E2=80=9D he asked.
Olmert said he did not know whether Syria=E2=80=99s recent peace overtures
were serious or not, but added that =E2=80=9CBashar Assad should be given t=
he
benefit of the doubt.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=9CAs prime minister I cannot miss any chance for peace,=E2=80=9D he =
said.
=E2=80=9CWould my political rivals in Israel not punish me if I ignore Assad
and a war breaks out with Syria as well?=E2=80=9D
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
.
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