 Iran goal: To build a nuclear bomb in 60 days, says Israel minister Iran is working toward a 'threshold status' of being able to produce a nuclear bomb with 60 days notice, says Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Debate in Israel over Iran's nuclear aims continues. By Dan Williams, Reuters / May 4, 2012 Iran's nuclear strategy could eventually allow it to build an atomic bomb with just 60 days' notice, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Friday.
Related stories
"They are currently trying to achieve immunity for the nuclear program," Barak told the Israel Hayom newspaper. "If they arrive at military nuclear capability, at a weapon, or a demonstrated capability, or a threshold status in which they could manufacture a bomb within 60 days - they will achieve a different kind of immunity, regime immunity." RECOMMENDED: 5 key sites in Iran's nuclear program Iran insists that its often secretive uranium enrichment is for peaceful energy and medical needs. At higher levels of purification, such projects can yield fuel for warheads, but Israel and the United States agree Iran has not taken that step. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year issued a report detailing alleged Iranian research and development activities that were relevant to nuclear weapons, lending independent weight to Western suspicions. Barak has said Iran is holding off until it can dig in behind defenses sufficient to withstand threatened Israeli or U.S. air strikes on its nuclear facilities. His 60-day timeline for potential Iranian warhead production appeared aimed at skeptics both at home and abroad of Israel's alarm who say it is too early to rattle sabres. Israeli leaders believe the diplomatic drive, which involves the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, has a low chance of success, and suggest that Iran's rulers seek an atomic bomb as insurance against outside intervention. CONFRONTING SCEPTICS Some prominent Israelis have questioned the strategic value of a pre-emptive strike, with former spy chief Yuval Diskin last week accusing the government of promulgating the "false impression" it had the means of halting Iran. "This is not so. We have been talking all the time about a delay," said Barak, indicating that Israel could not eradicate Iran's nuclear program, but saw value in forestalling it. Israel is reputed to have the region's only atomic arsenal, but many experts - including U.S. military chief, General Martin Dempsey - have voiced doubt that its conventional forces would be able to deliver lasting damage to Iran's distant, dispersed and fortified facilities. The idea that some countries with civilian atomic projects might then use them for military purposes is commonplace, letting states keep their options open while not necessarily violating their non-proliferation commitments. A leaked diplomatic cable from 2008 quoted senior U.S. State Department official John Rood saying Japan was "not a nuclear threshold country...but rather is 'over the threshold' and could develop nuclear weapons quickly if it wanted to" should it feel the need to vie with its nuclear-armed Asian neighbours. Barak, who leads the sole centrist party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative coalition government, has in the past sounded sanguine about Israel's ability to deter a nuclear-armed Iran from attacking. But with an Israeli election expected in September, and given Iran's nuclear advances as well as Western war jitters, Barak has publicly closed ranks with the hawkish Netanyahu. In Friday's interview with the pro-government daily, Barak said Iran might regard trying to destroy Israel with nuclear weapons as worth the risk of catastrophic retaliation. Under such thinking, he said, "after the exchange of strikes, Islam would remain and Israel would no longer be what it was". (Editing by Crispian Balmer and Angus MacSwan) RECOMMENDED: 5 key sites in Iran's nuclear program Related stories
Most viewed
Editors' Picks:
Yevgenia Chirikova was detained by Russian police earlier this year for protesting a planned highway through the old-growth Khimki Forest. An engineering mom leads effort to save an old-growth Russian forest Yevgenia Chirikova found out a national forest was quietly being sold off. What she did to try to save it may change Russia forever. Become part of the Monitor community 36K on Facebook | 12K on Twitter | 2,250 on YouTube Understanding the basics of your credit score can help you score the best mortgage Relocation.com
2 Comments
6/24/2015 21:10:43
This information is in fact pretty intriguing, after i definitely enjoyed, after i would which includes get more concerning this, due to the fact can be pretty attractive, many thanks with regard to sharing! 12/11/2015 16:31:22
yeah i like you.I hope everyone like this information they shared as I do. Really great information. Leave a Reply. |
PTAH HAS CREATED "THE SOURCE OF ALL MEDIA". TO HELP KEEP US STAY INFORMED .ON WHATS HAPPENING IN ,ON, AND AROUND OUR UNIVERS. Archives
September 2013
Click to set custom HTML
Categories |
|
|
- KAM
- don't jump into the pacific ocean or evacuate earth 'yeah nothing like that"
- sum moore
- Now it'z Our TIME
- The 1
- multipolar harmonicz
- laptop gate
- zaporozhye nuclear power plant news
- fukushima
- fallout/ radiation
- BOARDER BLOG
- terrorist state
- food now
- Climate change we must Change
- FOCUS FILMZ POLITICAL
- IZM GALLERY
- IZM TV/NEWS
- YOU KNOW WHO IT IZ
- ON YOUR BACK & BEYOND STYLE
- izm party
- Global biz
- ASCENDING MASTERS
- WHAT'Z UP WITH IT
- WORLD WIDE PEACE AND LOVE OR WAR
- JOURNEY OF PTAH
- INNOVATION
- tech/ cyber.S
- colonial semi yuanizm
- WHAT IZMIST DO
- GOLDEN AGE
- focus filmz
- cosmic alignment 2012
- THE PEACE AND LOVE FOUNDATION INC
- PROBLEMS IN LIES THE SOLUTION
- planet DISNEY
- melting pot
- fallout/radiation videos and info
- planet Elizabeth Taylor
- FOCUS FILMZ POLITICAL ON LOCATION
- we R the children
- books of knowledge
- Nu age
- TRUTHIZM" they will watch you die"
- CHEIF
- source of allmediaizm
- ptah messages from the beyond"
- COVID/19
- HEMP & CANOPY NEWZ
- CHINA BLUEIZM
- 4LIGHT IZ ZOUND
RSS Feed
