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Iran: Israeli military strike against nuclear program would be
'fatal mistake'
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
01/22/06 "Haaretz"
-- --
Iran on Sunday said Israel would be making a "fatal mistake" if
it resorted to military action against Tehran's nuclear program,
and dismissed comments on the issue made by Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz as a "childish game."
On Saturday, Mofaz said "Israel will not accept Iran's nuclear
armament," and added that Israel was prepared for military
action to stop Iran's nuclear program.
Mofaz, speaking at the Herzliya Conference, said that although
Israel is currently satisfied with the international diplomatic
efforts aimed at containing Tehran's nuclear program, Israel
must prepare to defend itself.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Israel
was only trying to add to Western pressure on Iran to give up
its nuclear program.
"We consider Mofaz's comments a from of psychological warfare.
Israel knows just how much of a fatal mistake it would be [to
attack Iran]," Asefi told reporters. "This is just a childish
game by Israel."
Israel, which views Iran as a major threat, has joined
Washington in charging that Tehran is trying to build nuclear
weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for electricity
generation.
Mofaz said that Iran poses a threat not only to Israel, but to
the entire world. He regarded Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad "an oppressor" and Syrian President Bashar Assad as
"an optometrist with no vision."
The defense minister reiterated his accusations that Iran funds
terror against Israel, a claim he made Thursday after Islamic
Jihad carried out a suicide bombing in southern Tel Aviv.
According to Mofaz, Iran last year transferred $100 million to
Hezbollah to fund terror activities, some of which was
transferred to Palestinian organizations. Islamic Jihad, he
said, received more than $10 million from Iran and Hezbollah
last year.
The speech addressed the Iranian people directly, with Mofaz
saying, "Ahmedinejad, his hallucinatory statements, his criminal
actions and his extreme views will bring disaster upon you. Do
what you understand needs to be done in order to prevent this."
Mofaz also said Ahmedinejad should look at historical examples
of others who tried to destroy the Jewish people.
"You, who are leading your country in an ideology of hatred,
terror and antisemitism. You had better take a glance at history
and see what became of tyrants like you who tried to annihilate
the Jewish people. They only brought destruction upon their own
people," he said.
Ahmedinejad has said that Israel should be "wiped off the map"
and has questioned whether the Holocaust took place.
Regarding relations with the Palestinians, Mofaz said that if it
becomes evident that there is no peace partner, Israel must
"take fate into her own hands."
Such a move, he added, would include a withdrawal to defensible
borders while strengthening West Bank settlement blocs,
demilitarization of Palestinian areas, and protecting a united
Jerusalem. To do so, U.S. and international backing will be
needed, he said, and added that he believes that such a move
would be widely supported by the Israeli public.
Also scheduled to appear at the Herzliya Conference, which is
set to last four days, are Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,
Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyhau and Labor Chairman Amir Peretz.
Among the issues to be discussed are Iran's nuclear armament and
its strategic implications, Israel's standing in Europe and the
U.S. and a debate on defining Israeli territory, which will
consider the question of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and
the Jewish people.
© Copyright 2006 Haaretz
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