Haaretz
Adar2 3, 5765
Ephraim Sneh, a member of the Knesset's Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee and a retired general, said on Sunday that
Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons is a threat to Israel's very existence,
but said Israeli military action would be a last resort.
Sneh
spoke after the London's Sunday Times reported Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's security cabinet gave "initial authorization" last month to a
plan for an air and ground attack on Iran if diplomatic efforts do not
halt the Islamic republic's nuclear program.
The newspaper reported
that the Israel Defense Forces has built a model of Iran's Natanz uranium
enrichment plant in order to practice assaults on the facility. Israel
would reportedly make use of F-15 fighter planes and teams from the Israel
Air Force's elite Shaldag unit in the attack.
According to the
Sunday Times, the Israeli plans have been discussed with the United States
who reportedly said they would not block an Israeli attack on Iran if
international diplomatic efforts fail to halt the nuclear
projects.
Sneh told Army Radio that the United States will play an
important role in how the situation is resolved.
He added that
Israel remains hopeful the international community will reach a diplomatic
solution with the Islamic republic.
"The Iranian threat is an
existential threat to the state Israel. Military action is the very last
resort," he said. "We have to ensure that other steps, diplomatic steps
are carried out first. Here the United States plays a leading role and I
hope it will fill it."
IDF and government officials have repeatedly
identified Iran as the greatest threat to Israel. They point to Iran's
suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons, as well as its assistance to
Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and Palestinian militants who attack
Israel.
Sneh, a legislator from the Labor Party, the junior member
of Sharon's coalition government, did not confirm whether Israel already
has plans in place to strike Iran.
Asked whether Israel has such
plans, Vice Premier Shimon Peres said "I don't think so." Peres spoke as
he entered the weekly cabinet meeting.
Iran vows to continue
with nuclear program
Neither threats nor incentives will alter
Iran's pursuit of its nuclear program, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said
Saturday, defying new moves by the European Union and the United States to
ensure Tehran never develops a nuclear bomb.
In a show of bluster
and defiance, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi rejected
overtures from the West, saying Iran would not be influenced by external
pressure. Iran maintains its nuclear program is solely for the peaceful
pursuit of nuclear energy.
"Iran is determined to use peaceful
nuclear technology and no pressure, incentive or threat can force Iran to
give up its rights," state-run radio quoted Asefi as
saying.
Washington recently agreed to drop its opposition to Iran's
membership in the World Trade Organization and allow some sale of spare
parts for civilian aircraft.
The move was in support of a European
plan to offer Tehran economic incentives to give up any nuclear weapons
ambitions.
Asefi rejected Washington's move. "Lifting some
restrictions against Iran will not stop Iran from pursuing its rights,"
Asefi was quoted as saying.
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told
Reuters on Friday that an Iranian nuclear bomb would be a "nightmare" for
Israel and other countries.
"In our view they are very close, too
close, to having the knowledge to develop this kind of bomb and that's why
we should be in a hurry," Shalom said in an interview in Mexico.