Israel instructs (demands!) Britain to 'stop' Iran

[MikeWB]

Israel instructs Britain to 'stop' Iran
Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:43:08 GMT

Israel's Netanyahu turns to the UK for anti-Iran measures.
Israel has demanded that the UK stop Iran from 'changing the face of the Middle East' by preventing it from obtaining a 'nuclear bomb'.

Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu called on visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Monday to 'stop' the Iranian nuclear program, claiming that Tehran seeks to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tel Aviv, the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, has long alleged that Iran is making efforts to build a nuclear weapon, while arguing that the use of military force is a legitimate option in halting the Iranian program.

This is while the UN nuclear watchdog, which has extensively monitored Iran's nuclear activities since 2003, announced in its latest report on Iran that the agency's inspectors have not found any 'components of a nuclear weapon' or 'related nuclear physics studies' in the country.

Netanyahu's remarks come as part of recent Israeli appeals to world leaders to maintain a tough stance toward Iran, amid fears about the prospect of Tehran-Washington restoring relations after president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

Tzipi Livni, Netanyahu's rival in the upcoming Israeli election, warned the US vice president-elect earlier against adopting an Iran policy different from that of the Bush White House.

"It is of the utmost importance that we keep up our coordination against the Iranian threat because time is not on the side of the moderates," the Israeli foreign minister said in a telephone conversation with Joe Biden.

In a similar move, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Russian officials that Tel Aviv is not 'pleased' with Moscow's stance toward Iran and its controversial nuclear program.

Moscow has helped Iran construct a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr over the past decade and has pledged to continue to support Iran in the area of uranium enrichment.

Tel Aviv claims a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel.

Iran denies the Israeli claim, insisting that the country's nuclear activities are solely directed at the civilian applications of the technology.

CS/AA