Israel mentions Iran; warns of war next year

[TriWooOx]

Quote:As the prospects of diplomatic talks between the US and Iran enhance, Israel attempts to raise the alarm by claiming that Tehran is "very close" to acquiring nuclear weapons.

"Iran is at the moment very close to getting a military nuclear arsenal," Amos Yadlin, the head of Israel's military intelligence, was quoted as telling parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee on Tuesday.

Ever since US President Barack Obama raised the possibility of opening Tehran-Washington dialogue, officials in Tel Aviv and powerful pro-Israeli lobbies in the US have launched initiatives to reduce the likelihood of such talks or at the very least influence the outcome.

Tel Aviv, the possessor of the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, has long accused Iran and its nuclear program, which the country says is directed at civilian purposes, of posing a "threat" to its existence.

On Tuesday, one day after a US-Iranian journalist was released on suspended terms in Tehran -- a move praised in Washington--, Major General Yadlin told the parliament that Iran could "manage to stabilize its military nuclear program by 2010," AFP reported.

"The Iranian strategy was not to get the international community against it, but to discreetly continue nuclear armament without crossing red lines," he was quoted by Israeli media as saying.

This comes as the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed in a series of assessments that the country has complied with its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Although criticized by the UN nuclear watchdog at times for lack of extra-transparency on its conventional military programs, Iran has allowed the UN body to fully monitor its uranium enrichment facilities.

Uranium, the fuel for a nuclear power plant, can serve in military purposes if enriched to high levels of above 90 percent.

According to the latest International Atomic Energy Agency figures, however, Iran has produced some 1,010 kilograms of low enriched uranium (LEU) -- a level "less than 5 percent."

Under the pretext of the nuclear issue, high-ranking officials in Tel Aviv and in the Israeli army have vocally threatened Iran with a military strike on its nuclear sites.

Yadlin, for his part, told the parliament that the army was still studying the possibility of a regional war in the coming year.

Iran, meanwhile, continues to prep its military for deterring threats such as those originating from Israel.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=94487...ionid=351020104

[Shinobi]

Israel can stfu:)

[rsol]

I say to Israel....piss or get off the pot

[mastermg]

Israhell is so ready to go down