Meridor: World Powers Must Act on Iran Right Now
If there is enough political and economic action put together, there is a good chance that Iran will listen to reason. I don't think they are irrational.
Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor
World powers still have a chance to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, but "the clock is ticking," Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor told Reuters Saturday. "If there is enough political and economic action put together, there is a good chance that Iran will listen to reason. I don't think they are irrational," he said. But, he added, "the time is now. There is no more time to waste, and that's not only the Israeli perspective, it's much more general."
Meridor, who is also Israel's Minister of Intelligence and Nuclear Energy, was speaking on the sidelines of a conference hosted by Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies.
When asked for a time frame on Iran's production of nuclear weapons, Meridor said that "it's not in the distant future. When they decide exactly this or exactly that is a good question but it's not the main question. The trend is clear and if you want to be an owner of nuclear weapons or have the capability of being a nuclear power it changes the balance of power
With that, Meridor, considered a political moderate, stressed that Israel was not planning any specific military action to prevent Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons. Iran is not just Israel's problem, he said, but the world's. "I'm not speaking of military action," Meridor said. "I don't want to give any word that would be misinterpreted. I intentionally put this issue in its broader context. One should not close one's eyes but we are in a way fortunate that this is not only Israel's problem," he said.
Meridor also said that Israel would continue its policy of ambiguity on its own nuclear program. "Our policy is a good one and it worked well. And we are known to be quite a responsible country. I will not say what we have, if we have or we don't have (nuclear weapons), but the fact is that the alarm in the Arab world is related to the fear that Iran may have it," he said.
On Friday, Iran hinted for the first time that it would be willing to discuss its nuclear program. "Should conditions be ripe, there is a possibility of talks about the nuclear issue," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.
In response, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said Saturday that the U.S. intended to bring the nuclear issue up with Iran in any event. "We're not talking for talking's sake," Gibbs said. "This may not have been a topic they wanted to be brought up, but I can assure you it's a topic that we'll bring up. The Iranians have a responsibility to the international community to walk away from their illicit nuclear weapons program. That's what the focus from our side will be in these talks, and that's our goal."
Meridor: 'The clock is ticking' on Iran
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
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