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Israeli army chief Dan Halutz.
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| By Associated Press January 10, 2006 |
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Israel's armed forces chief said Monday that Iran was playing a dangerous game of brinksmanship with its continuing march toward developing nuclear weapons but it was not Israel's place to take action.
Iran said over the weekend that inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency would remove seals from some nuclear facilities by Monday, opening the way for Tehran to resume research on fuel production. That development heightened concerns that Iran was moving toward building nuclear weapons.
"There is no doubt that the Iranians are walking on the edge," Israeli army chief Dan Halutz told military correspondents. "And there is no doubt that when you walk on the edge, (treading on) the smallest stone can drop you in the abyss."
Tehran says its nuclear program is for electricity generation, while Israel, the U.S. and Europe suspect Iran is moving to produce nuclear bombs.
Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been taking an increasingly belligerent line against Israel, recently calling for it to be "wiped off the map."
Using an analogy from tennis, Halutz said that in their latest move, the Iranians had "served the ball" but Israel had no intention of volleying it.
Israel has repeatedly denied plans to launch a pre-emptive military strike against Iran's nuclear capability, saying it preferred to let the international community take care of the problem.
Israel, the U.S. and France have pushed for taking Iran before the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions if Tehran is found in violation of the Nonproliferation Treaty.
"The entire international community is busy with this. The United States, the Europeans and even the Russians, " Halutz said. "I don't know what will happen or where it will lead. "
Iran's supreme leader, Khamenei says PM Ariel Sharon's death would signify U.S. defeat in Middle East
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Monday the death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would be a serious defeat for United States policy in the Middle East, state-run radio reported.
"The Americans have been defeated in Palestine since the butcher of the Palestinians, who intended to destroy the Palestinian Intifada, has come to his end," the radio quoted Khamenei as saying to a group of visitors.
On Thursday Iran's hard-line president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he hoped for the death of Sharon.
Khamenei also sent a message to pilgrims in Islam's holiest city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
"The U.S. Middle East policy faced major obstacles ... The failure of the policy has turned it into a weapon against its designers," Khamenei said. "Today on the one hand there is Iraq, and on the other hand Palestine and Lebanon, displaying the weakness and powerlessness of the U.S. and Zionism."
"I urge Muslim nations to support and protect Palestinians and Iraqis, as well as backing up peace and stability in Lebanon and Syria," the supreme leader added.
Iran and the U.S. have regularly clashed over issues ranging from the war on terrorism and the Middle East peace process to Iran's controversial nuclear program.
Washington charges Tehran is trying to develop nuclear weapons while Iran says its nuclear program has the sole aim of making fuel for atomic reactors that would generate electricity.
Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979 when militant students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took American diplomats hostage for 444 days.
President Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a "myth" in December. After global outrage over the comments, he said that Europeans should cede some of their territory for a Jewish state.
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