http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0428/p01s02-wome.html
World > Middle East
from the April 28, 2006 edition

FIERY WORDS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad watched the Army Day military parade in Tehran on April 18.
MORTEZA NIKOUBAZL/REUTERS


Israel raises profile in Iran fray
Israeli satellite will monitor Iran's nuclear program, which faces a UN deadline Friday.
By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

JERUSALEM – Amid the soaring rhetoric over Western efforts to curb Iran's nuclear program, Israel has been moving into a more proactive position in the campaign to contain Tehran.
This week, Israel launched a satellite to spy on Iran, and its leaders have called on the international community to stop that country from acquiring nuclear weapons. It also accused Tehran of backing Palestinian terrorists.


A nuclear Iran
Stories
04/28/06

Israel raises profile in Iran fray

04/27/06

A defiant Iran banks on a split at UN

04/24/06

Western pressure irks average Iranians

04/20/06

Mideast 'axis' forms against West

04/14/06

Behind Bush's hard line on Iran

04/12/06

Is Iran next? The calculus of military strike.

03/31/06

Security Council turns up pressure against Iran

03/28/06

Delays turn to stalemate over Iran's nuclear ambitions

03/16/06

UN-Iran discussion mirrors Iraq debate

Commentary
04/14/06

In case Iran needs a squeeze

04/13/06

Work through the NPT to address concerns about Iranian nukes

04/11/06

Striking Iran is an option, not inevitable

03/13/06

Dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions: four approaches

02/02/06

In the shadow of Iran's nuclear threat



In the Monitor
Thursday, 04/27/06



Israel raises profile in Iran fray


Congress, states look to tax oil firms' profits

Why the CIA's secret flights irk Europeans

Taking it to the curb: Britons warm to recycling

Editorial: Watering Lebanon's cedar revolution

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And as concern here grows over Iran's defiant nuclear drive, one of Israel's leading newspapers reported Thursday that Iran has purchased ground-to-ground missiles from North Korea, extending its range for delivering warheads.

"The Israelis are making a statement that Israel has its own ways and means of defending itself," says Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Middle East analyst based in Tel Aviv.

Given the charged atmosphere in the region, many have questioned whether Israel, which maintains its own unofficial nuclear program, would make some kind of "preemptive strike" on Iran.

In 1981, Israel struck the nuclear reactor Iraq was developing, known as Osirak. Though criticized at the time, Israeli officials say they were later thanked for neutralizing Iraq's nuclear capabilities.

Today, however, the Middle East is quite different, say analysts and officials here, and Iran's pursuit to enrich uranium, which it says is for peaceful purposes, is seen as an international issue, not a local one.

Somewhat akin to years of crisis over Iraq's weapons program, Israel has been encouraged to take a backseat in the standoff with Iran. In 1991, Israel complied with US requests not to respond to Iraqi missile attacks. Through quieter channels, however, Israel has long been making the case against an armed Iran.

But, analysts say, recent changes in the region have led to a more vocal Israel, from US frustration with Iran's meddling in Iraq to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's inflammatory statements - he calls for Israel to be destroyed and denies the Holocaust occurred.

"The Israeli government before the elections was taking a more moderate line. It was an uncertain period: Ariel Sharon was sick, elections were looming," says Mr. Javenanfar, the director of Meepas, a political analysis company. "[Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert feels more secure now and feels that the international community is standing by Israel. This wasn't so much the case during the intifada, but it's changing, particularly since Iran was given a 30-day period to stop uranium enrichment and they say they won't."

Those 30 days end Friday, the deadline for the International Atomic Energy Agency to submit its report on Iran to the UN Security Council. The report is expected to be highly critical of Iran for refusing the council's request to freeze uranium enrichment.

While Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev says Israel has no interest in a one-on-one confrontation with Iran, he says, "We do have clear concerns. We are supporting united, international efforts on this issue."

The launch of the Eros-B spy satellite by Israel Aircraft Industries on Tuesday, Mr. Regev says, is a part of a long-term intelligence effort that is not tied to recent tension. And some of the official statements made about Iran during the course of the week were issued as part of Holocaust Remembrance Day. It is a day when Israelis reflect on their survival, and this year conversations often turned to Ahmadinejad's threats from the east.

"I call on the Western world to not stand silently in the face of the nations that are trying to acquire nuclear weapons and [who] preach the destruction of the State of Israel," Israeli President Moshe Katsav said in his annual address at the country's main Holocaust museum and memorial, Yad Vashem.

On the same day, Israel's outgoing defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, said that Iran had given close to $10 million to "terror groups" operating in the Palestinian territories since the start of the year. He also suggested that more should be done to encourage the demise of the current regime.

"The Iranian people need to know that the regime's efforts to lead global terror will negatively affect them," Mr. Mofaz said at the opening of the Center for Iranian studies at Tel Aviv University. "More can be done from outside Iran to raise the Iranian people's awareness that the current regime will bring destruction on them." Both Mofaz and Katsav are Iranian-born Israelis.

Thursday's report in the newspaper Haaretz, which said that Iran had acquired a ground-to-ground missile with a range of about 1,560 miles was viewed here as fresh proof that Iran's atomic program is not simply aimed at creating nuclear energy for civilian uses.

"The problem is Tehran is not just a nuclear power, but that they're working on delivery systems," says Regev, of the Foreign Ministry. "With the parallel track on their delivery systems, we can see that their program is not benign."

Gary Sick, an expert on Iranian affairs at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, says that both the Iranians and Israelis have made statements recently that have turned up the heat to uncomfortable levels.

He aruges that the West's pursuit of a military option can only make things worse. "If there were a strike of some sort against Iran, it would certainly drive them underground, make them become more secretive, and they would drop out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran will say, 'We weren't planning a bomb before, but now we have no choice,' " Dr. Sick says.

"What I do worry about in this whole process," he adds, "is that there will be some unexplained incident that happens deliberately or not deliberately, that will be perceived wrongly by one side or the other - that's how WWI got started."

West Vows to Introduce Iran Resolution Washington Post
Western nations promised Friday to introduce a new Security Council resolution next week to demand Iran abandon uranium enrichment after a new report said Tehran had ignored calls to clear up suspicions that it wants a nuclear weapon. China, which wields a veto in the council, said it would oppose tough action in the powerful U.N. body. "All we want is to work for a diplomatic solution because this region is already complicated, there are a lot of problems in the region, and we should not do anything that would cause the situation (to be) more complicated," China's Ambassador Wang Guangya. Russia also was likely to resist. Council members said they would act urgently after the latest report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, even as Iran remains defiant. "We are concerned about the continued work that Iran is doing to acquire nuclear weapons capability," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. "We do think there's a sense of urgency here and we hope that we can get council action just as soon as possible." Britain, France and Germany, which had led efforts for those earlier demands, will introduce a new resolution next week with the intention of discussing it Wednesday, Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry said. Last month, the council had urged Iran to stop enriching uranium and asked the IAEA, to report back on Tehran's compliance in 30 days. The agency released findings earlier Friday that said Iran had ignored those demands. The West wants the new resolution to fall under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which would require all member states, including Iran, to comply. If Iran did not, the council could then impose sanctions or even threaten military force _ though ambassadors say they want a diplomatic solution. "If Iran was prepared to comply fully with the wishes of the international community, then the next stage of the activity will not follow," Jones-Parry said. "We would get back into negotiations, which would be our preferred solution." Iran gave no indication it was willing to heed the council. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said no Security Council resolution could make Iran give up its nuclear program. "The Iranian nation won't give a damn about such useless resolutions," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people Friday in northwestern Iran before the IAEA report was issued. "Today, they want to force us to give up our way through threats and sanctions but those who resort to language of coercion should know that nuclear energy is a national demand and by the grace of God, today Iran is a nuclear country," state-run television quoted him as saying.

Western nations will also have to overcome opposition from China and Russia, which are extremely wary of tough council action. Intense opposition by those two nations during the council's last round of negotiations over Iran more than a month ago resulted in a statement that was far more watered down than the west wanted. After reading the latest report, Wang made clear that Beijing was opposed to a new Security Council resolution that could lead to sanctions or other strong action. Russia and China want the IAEA to play the main role and have the council stay in the background. The two fear that a tough resolution would push the council into the forefront and lead to more resolutions. "All we want is to work for a diplomatic solution because this region is already complicated, there are a lot of problems in the region, and we should not do anything that would cause the situation (to be) more complicated," Wang said. Bolton, on the other hand, underscored that the United States was increasingly concerned about what he said was Iran's "extensive program" to develop long-range ballistic missiles, particularly because of its status as "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism." He repeated earlier U.S. suggestions that Washington might go outside the Security Council to pressure Iran. The United States has previously mentioned bringing together a coalition of allies that could impose sanctions bilaterally. "There are a variety of other things that could be undertaken within or without the Security Council," he said.
By NICK WADHAMS. UNITED NATIONS
IAEA: Iran Defying UN Demands Voice of America
Iran Says It Will Ignore International Warnings on Nukes CNSNews.com
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Israel vows 'swift' border work BBC News
The incoming Israeli government will meet swiftly to draw Israel's final borders, according to the guidelines of a new coalition agreement. Withdrawal from parts of the West Bank and construction of a huge separation barrier will also be prioritised. The Kadima Party signed the accord with the Labour Party on Thursday. However, a coalition with Labour and the Pensioners Party leaves interim PM Ehud Olmert short of the parliamentary majority he needs to realise his plan. Mr Olmert wants to set permanent borders for Israel by 2010. BBC correspondent Katya Adler says the plan involves removing dozens of Jewish settlements from the occupied West Bank while keeping others. If he succeeds, tens of thousands of Jewish settlers will lose their homes and large areas of occupied Palestinian land will be annexed. Mr Olmert will need international support and a powerful coalition in the 120-seat parliament to push through his plan, our correspondent says.

'Rocky road ahead'
Labour, which came second in the general election in March, is expected to get seven cabinet posts, with Labour leader Amir Peretz likely to serve as defence minister. However, negotiations between Israel's two largest political groups went on for almost a month after differences emerged over economic issues and the division of cabinet portfolios. Correspondents say the partnership could become rocky over two key issues. The economy - Kadima tends to the centre right and Labour to the centre left - and relations with the Palestinians regarding the future security of Israel. Both parties agree that Israel must give up land to fix its final borders. But while Kadima favours unilateral action, Labour is open to talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the issue, our correspondent says. With the Pensioners Party and Labour on board, Mr Olmert controls 55 seats - six seats short of a workable majority. He is seeking to form a broad coalition with more than 80 seats. Talks with other parties are continuing, with Kadima expected to reach a deal with the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

Ahmadinejad says Iran's nuclear programme irreversible Monsters and Critics.com
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday termed Iran's decision to pursue its nuclear programmes as irreversible. 'The decision by Iran to pursue nuclear technology and produce nuclear fuel in line with all international commitments is legal and irreversible,' Ahmadinejad said on state television in a first reaction to Friday's report by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. 'We will not accept any discrimination, this (uranium enrichment) is our Red Line which we will not allow to be trespassed by anybody,' he added. He termed the current phase as a 'test' for international bodies such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency and called on the UN not to let its international credit being darkened by superpowers. 'The UN can ask us to remove whatever remaining ambiguities but not deprive us from the whole (nuclear) technology,' Ahmadinejad said. Ahmadinejad called on the West to respect the will and right of the Iranian nation and allow the Iran case being returned to the IAEA. The deputy of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said earlier Saturday that Iran will present the IAEA within the next three weeks a new plan for settling the nuclear dispute, Mohammad Saeidi said in an interview with the news network Khabar that the main condition for starting the new plan would however be maintaining the Iranian nuclear case within the IAEA and not the United Nations Security Council. Saeidi said that within the plan Iran would also resume voluntary implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol and renewed snap IAEA inspections of Iran's nuclear sites but continue nuclear enrichment for research purposes. Saeidi had said on Friday night that the eight-page report from IAEA chief ElBaradei contained 'no negative aspects' and once again showed that the IAEA still had the potential to deal with the Iranian nuclear case and that involvement of the UN Security Council was the 'totally wrong way.' The Iranian official claimed that ElBaradei would also welcome the Iranian case being evaluated within the IAEA and not the Security Council. 'The report was of course not very satisfactory and could have been better but our new plan could be the most suitable way to settle the dispute in a diplomatic way - under the condition however that some countries stop their stubborn approach,' Saeidi said. He termed the Security Council demand from Iran to stop the enrichment process as illegal and contrary to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and therefore not able to be implemented. He stressed that also the differences over the P-1 and P-2 devices and the nuclear pollution mentioned in ElBaradei's report have been settled with the IAEA by almost 80 per cent. Saeidi however noted that the remaining differences are related to issues going beyond Iranian borders, referring to Pakistan from where Iran had purchased the devices. 'We are currently using only P-1 devices in our uranium enrichment process but we have already told the IAEA that it would be inevitable to use the most progressive devices to accelerate the enrichment process,' the Iranian official said. He added that the research phase of the enrichment process in the Natanz plant in central Iran was continuing within a 164 centrifuge-cascade and at a 3.6 per cent level but Iran planned to expand the cascades to 3000 centrifuges within one year. 'This would enable us the start of the initial phase of industrial enrichment,' Saeidi said while stressing that the Natanz plant has just recently been inspected again by the IAEA.
Iran moves to prevent sanctions by allowing nuclear inspections Irish Examiner
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