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Iran Steps Back

(Telegraph-UK) Editorial - In his interview, Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, argues that Iran's decision to consign a proportion of its enriched uranium stockpile to civilian use has averted a crisis. But that is only half the story. Iran still possesses significant quantities of enriched uranium, which could be used for a nuclear weapons program. The ayatollahs may have decided to give themselves some breathing space by playing along with the IAEA's demands, with the aim of returning to their nuclear weapons program once the international pressure has eased. But that would be a grave miscalculation. The stand-off between Iran and the Western powers is unlikely to be resolved so long as Tehran fails to provide satisfactory guarantees that its remaining stockpiles of enriched uranium are for peaceful purposes, and not for making atomic bombs. Barak believes that Israel now has the military capability to launch unilateral air strikes against Iran - and the Jewish state will not hesitate to use them while its existence remains under threat.
2012-10-31 00:00:00
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