- Jan 8, 2007
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srael does not intend to bomb Iran, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday, stepping back from suggestions it might attack the Islamic republic to thwart its nuclear program.
Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to
Russia, Lieberman said Iran's nuclear program was the world's problem, not just Israel's. He said other nations should not expect Israel to solve the problem for them.
"We do not intend to bomb Iran, and nobody will solve their problems with our hands," Lieberman told reporters. "We don't need that. Israel is a strong country, we can protect ourselves.
"But the world should understand that the Iran's entrance into the nuclear club would prompt a whole arms race, a crazy race of unconventional weaponry across the Mideast. That is a threat to the entire world order, a challenge to the whole international community," he said in Russian. "So we do not want a global problem to be solved with our hands."
Lieberman suggested Iran's closer neighbors should be more concerned about a nuclear-armed Iran than Israel.
"It's clearly not an Israeli problem - it's the problem of the whole Middle East, and those who are most concerned about the Iranian nuclear problem are the Arab countries," Lieberman said.
"I think that those Iran's nuclear program frightens most of all are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and all the others," he said. "Iran is a factor of instability in the Middle East, without any connection with Israel."
Lieberman also said that issues such as the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs and instability in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia pose greater global threats than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - suggesting the United States should focus more on other problems.
more...
Lieberman: Israel not planning to bomb Iran | International | Jerusalem Post
I posted this just for you, Dave..
Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to
Russia, Lieberman said Iran's nuclear program was the world's problem, not just Israel's. He said other nations should not expect Israel to solve the problem for them.
"We do not intend to bomb Iran, and nobody will solve their problems with our hands," Lieberman told reporters. "We don't need that. Israel is a strong country, we can protect ourselves.
"But the world should understand that the Iran's entrance into the nuclear club would prompt a whole arms race, a crazy race of unconventional weaponry across the Mideast. That is a threat to the entire world order, a challenge to the whole international community," he said in Russian. "So we do not want a global problem to be solved with our hands."
Lieberman suggested Iran's closer neighbors should be more concerned about a nuclear-armed Iran than Israel.
"It's clearly not an Israeli problem - it's the problem of the whole Middle East, and those who are most concerned about the Iranian nuclear problem are the Arab countries," Lieberman said.
"I think that those Iran's nuclear program frightens most of all are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and all the others," he said. "Iran is a factor of instability in the Middle East, without any connection with Israel."
Lieberman also said that issues such as the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs and instability in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia pose greater global threats than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - suggesting the United States should focus more on other problems.
more...
Lieberman: Israel not planning to bomb Iran | International | Jerusalem Post
I posted this just for you, Dave..
