Israel Considers Destroying Iran's Nuclear Program

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.rense.com/general42/israe...destroying.htm

TEL AVIV -- For the first time, Israel's military has raised the prospect of an operation to destroy Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program.

Israel's chief of staff, alarmed by the failure of the international community to move against Iran, has warned that Israel would consider unilateral action to stop the "nightmare scenario" of Teheran's development of nuclear weapons.

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom demanded that the international community stop the program.

"Iran is fast approaching the point of no return in its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons capability," Shalom said. "It's urgent that the international community act to ensure that this nightmare scenario is prevented."

Israel's Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon took the rhetoric up a notch.

"At the moment there is continuing international diplomatic activity to deal with this threat, and it would be good if it succeeds," Ya'alon said. "But if that is not the case we would consider our options."

Israel has never specified what action it might take to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program. But Israeli officials assert that the nation's deep-strike air capability has been vastly upgraded since Israeli F-16 multi-role fighters destroyed the Iraqi reactor at Osirak in 1981.

Officials said Israel has been dismayed by what they term the refusal by both the European Union and the United States to share the sense of urgency regarding Iran's nuclear program. Last week, Washington rejected an Israeli assessment that Iran could complete its first nuclear weapons by the end of 2004.

"The fact that a country like Iran, an enemy [of Israel] and which is particularly irresponsible, has equipped itself with nonconventional weapons is worrisome," Ya'alon said.

"The combination in this case of a nonconventional regime with nonconventional weapons is a concern."

The clearest warnings yet came on the eve of another effort by the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate suspected Iranian violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The suspected violations include the unauthorized enrichment of uranium.

Three leading EU states have offered to share nuclear technology with Iran if Teheran agrees to sign a protocol for tougher nuclear inspections. Britain, Germany and France sent a letter to Iran that offered nuclear technology in a bid to defuse the confrontation with the IAEA.

In early September, the IAEA voted to give Teheran until Oct. 31 to respond to all agency inquiries over Iran's nuclear program. An IAEA delegation was expected to arrive in Iran on Sunday to conduct additional environmental sampling of nuclear facilities to test for uranium enrichment.

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