www.dailytimes.com.pk/
Monday, April 24, 2006
US will go for other states after Iran and Iraq, says Margolis
* Well-known journalist calls Bush=E2=80=99s statements on Iran=E2=80=99s
N-programme =E2=80=98ridiculous and nonsense=E2=80=99
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Renowned American journalist Eric Margolis has said that the US
will =E2=80=9Cgo for=E2=80=9D Pakistan and Saudi Arabia after Iraq and Iran.
=E2=80=9CWe have leaks from reliable sources that after Iraq and Iran, the =
US
plans to go for Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,=E2=80=9D Margolis said in an
interview with IWT NEWS on Saturday. Margolis supported Iran=E2=80=99s
nuclear weapons programme, saying that it poses no threat to the world
community. US President George W Bush=E2=80=99s statements on Iran=E2=80=99s
nuclear programme were =E2=80=9Cridiculous and nonsense=E2=80=9D, he said. =
=E2=80=9CIran
has no nuclear bombs and no capability to bomb a country with these
weapons,=E2=80=9D Margolis said.
He said that Iran=E2=80=99s longest-range missile, Shahab-III, had a maximum
range of 1,200-1,500 kilometres, which meant that Iran could not attack
North America or Western Europe. =E2=80=9CNo substantial evidence has yet
been found that Iran has nuclear weapons, and anyone saying that Iran
is a threat to the world is lying and deceiving the world,=E2=80=9D Margolis
said. He said that Bush=E2=80=99s statement about Iraq having weapons of ma=
ss
destruction had =E2=80=9Cproved baseless=E2=80=9D. The US and Israel were p=
lanning
to attack Iran=E2=80=99s nuclear infrastructure and major military
installations, he said.
Margolis said that Iran had been trying to acquire nuclear weapons
since 1970, when it signed an agreement with Israel to provide it with
nuclear warheads and medium range missiles. He said that Pakistani
intelligence sources had told him that decades ago, Iran had offered to
pay for Pakistan=E2=80=99s entire defence budget for 10 years in exchange f=
or
nuclear technology. =E2=80=9CWhy shouldn=E2=80=99t Iran have nuclear weapon=
s? It is
surrounded by nuclear powers like Pakistan, Russia, Israel and
India,=E2=80=9D Margolis said. He said that the US was providing India with
nuclear secrets and the latest nuclear technology in spite of the fact
that the latter had not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. He said
that India is developing submarine-launched missiles capable of
carrying nuclear warheads, and Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles
with a range of 7,000 miles. =E2=80=9CWith these weapons, India can strike
even the US, but the Bush administration is still providing India with
modern nuclear technology,=E2=80=9D he said. He said that the US had suppli=
ed
Israel with bomber airplanes, which could travel to Iran and even
Pakistan. It had also given Israel around 500 =E2=80=9Cpenetrating bombs,
which are very lethal=E2=80=9D.
He said that a US or Israeli attack on Iran could be =E2=80=9Cvery
dangerous=E2=80=9D, as Iran had the ability to =E2=80=9Cpunish American for=
ces in
Iraq=E2=80=9D. He said that the present Iraqi government was a Shia
government which is very close to Iran. =E2=80=9CSo an attack on Iran can
outrage the Shia community of Iraq,=E2=80=9D he said. Margolis said that Ir=
an
had the ability to launch =E2=80=9Ccommando attacks=E2=80=9D on US forces i=
n the
gulf. =E2=80=9CIran can attack US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Iran
can hamper oil exports from the area, which will create a major panic
in the world and in the US,=E2=80=9D he said.
=E2=80=9CIranians are prepared to take huge casualties (to defend themselve=
s)
because they are a dedicated and nationalistic nation, whereas the US
lacks this advantage,=E2=80=9D Margolis said, adding that Iran can even send
troops to Iraq.
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