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U.S. Denies Plans to Attack Iran Over Nuclear Work
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that Washington had no plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, despite the Defense Department’s recent agreement to sell 500 “bunker-buster” bombs capable of disabling underground weapons facilities to Israel (see GSN, Sept. 22). Powell and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom did not, however, rule out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites. “We’re talking about diplomacy and political efforts to stop this movement on the part of the Iranians toward a nuclear weapon,” Powell said. “We’re not talking about strikes, but every option, of course, remains on the table.” Shalom said that the issue should be sent to the U.N. Security Council. “We know the Europeans are trying now to engage the Iranians, but we know that the Iranians will never abandon their plans to develop nuclear weapons. They’re only trying to hide it,” he said. Powell said he would hope to see the case sent to the Security Council if Iran is unable or unwilling to answer the international community’s concerns by the November meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Jim Wurst, GSN, Sept. 23). The Bush administration said it has no plans to seek a Security Council resolution for Iran that would be similar to the one leading to last year’s invasion of Iraq, the Associated Press reported. If the case comes before the Security Council, a senior State Department official said, the United States would call for a resolution seeking the suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities (Associated Press/USA Today, Sept. 23). Iran’s decision to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency’s most recent resolution to halt all uranium enrichment activities almost guarantees that the United States would push for the issue to be sent the Security Council in November, according to the Los Angeles Times. “They’ve thumbed their nose at the international community before and they’re doing it again,” Undersecretary of State John Bolton said. “The important thing is to change the political calculus of this issue. Put it in the spotlight, center stage, here in New York.” Even if the case was brought before the Security Council, some experts doubt that it would do much to change the situation. China, which holds a veto on the council, has said it opposes sanctions. “I’m not sure that the Security Council is such a threat,” said Kenneth Pollack, deputy director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. “The last option is a military attack, which I don’t think anyone wants.” Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned yesterday that Iran posed a growing risk. “Iran is involved in efforts which pose a clear danger to Israel — efforts to develop nuclear weapons,” he told Israel Radio. “They have already succeeded in developing ballistic missiles with a range that covers Israel.” “Dealing with this threat does not need to be done by Israel (by) itself,” he said. “This calls for an international effort to increase pressure on Iran.” Israel will “continue taking all defensive precautions necessary to maintain its defensive capabilities as well as deterrence,” Sharon added (Maggie Farley, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 23). Iranian officials warned that the Islamic republic would react “most severely” to any Israeli action against its nuclear installations, the Associated Press reported. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, asked yesterday about the U.S. sale of 500 “bunker buster” bombs to Israel, said, “Israel has always been a threat, not only against Iran, but all countries.” Israel’s “freedom to produce as much as they need — nuclear bombs as well as other weapons of mass destruction” is the main conflict in the Middle East, Kharazi said. “But be sure, any action by Israel certainly will be reacted (to) by us, most severely,” Kharazi said (Gerald Nadler, Associated Press/PhillyBurbs.com, Sept. 23).
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