Obama Considers Iranian Nuclear Weapons a Direct Threat to the US

Iranian Nuclear Weapons Pose a Direct Threat to U.S.

Monday November 14, 2011 13:22 by Mais Azza - IMEMC & Agencies

U.S. President, Barack Obama, left the door open for options that should be taken to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. He considers Iran with nuclear weapons a threat not only in the region, but also to the United States directly, the Palestinian news agency, Ma’an reported.

In his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, President Obama assured that they have to put a pressure on Iran, and that Russia and China should understand that this issue is complicated and has dangerous consequences within the Middle East.

The President did not explicitly say he would consider military action if Iran persisted to develop nuclear weapons while he was answering questions at a press conference.

He said that after the report that was published by the International Atomic Energy Agency, sanctions must be imposed upon Iran.

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Israeli Incitement Against Iran Continues

Israel says Iran closer to atom bomb than thought

Credit: Reuters/Caren Firouz

JERUSALEM | Sun Nov 13, 2011 3:12pm EST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the full extent of Iran's nuclear program was not reflected in a recent U.N. report, which said that Tehran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb.

"Iran is closer to getting an (atomic) bomb than is thought," Netanyahu said in remarks to cabinet ministers, quoted by an official from his office.

"Only things that could be proven were written (in the U.N. report), but in reality there are many other things that we see," Netanyahu said, according to the official.

The Israeli leader did not specify what additional information he had about Iran's nuclear program during his cabinet's discussion on the report by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released last week.

At the start of meeting, Netanyahu made a broadcast repeating his call for the world "to stop Iran's race to arm itself with a nuclear weapon before it is too late."

Iran has dismissed accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons and says it needs atomic technology for electricity and other peaceful projects. it called the IAEA report "unbalanced" and "politically motivated."

The IAEA paper has intensified media speculation that the United States or Israel might take military action against Iran to destroy its nuclear program.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had "credible" information that Iran had built a large explosives vessel to conduct hydrodynamic experiments, which are "strong indicators of possible weapon development."

Both Washington and Israel have said they are keeping all options on the table to stop Tehran developing a nuclear bomb.

Israel, a close strategic ally of Western powers, is widely believed to have the Middle East region's only nuclear arsenal, dating back decades. It has never confirmed or denied this, under a policy of ambiguity designed to deter attacks.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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News number: 9007273391
18:05 | 2011-11-14

Israeli Firm Leader: World Likely to Accept Iran as N. Power

TEHRAN (FNA)-

A top economist at a leading Israeli firm cautioned that a military action against Iran will be too costly since it will increase oil prices and damage global trade, and said the world is more likely to accept a nuclear Iran than pay the high costs of war.

A sharp rise in the price of oil, the costs of war and the damage to global trade would be too great and deter world powers from taking any serious action, said Amir Kahanovich, chief economist at Clal Finance, one of Israel's largest brokerage houses.

The assessment differed sharply from Israel's official position that Tehran's nuclear aspirations are unacceptable and that all options are on the table in preventing a nuclear Iran, which it views as a threat to its existence.

In a report "The Iranian Issue through Economic Eyes," Kahanovich laid out courses of action - ranging from additional "light sanctions" to military strikes - and told investors the world would likely balk at taking the steps needed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Even for Israel the economic cost of a military confrontation that could include retaliatory missile attacks by Tehran and proxies in Gaza and Lebanon would be too high, Kahanovich wrote, Reuters reported.

"Unfortunately, it appears that a nuclear Iran is the most reasonable scenario," he added.

His remarks came after Israeli President Shimon Peres said earlier this month that an attack on Iran was becoming increasingly more likely.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israel's parliament (Knesset) on October 31 in an effort to garner support for a military attack on Iran over its nuclear program.

In reply senior Iranian officials described the threats as "foolish" remarks, and warned that friends and allies of the Islamic Revolution would destroy Israel before it can make the slightest military move against Iran.

"This is just a baseless allegation because the Zionist regime is engaged in a war over its survival in Tel Aviv today," Vice Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Ebrahimi told FNA.

Also, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) top officials warned the Zionist regime of Iran's crushing response to any act of aggression, saying that an attack on Iran would put an end to Israel's existence.

"If the Zionist regime (of Israel) commits such a mistake, it would mean that it has entered the final days of its existence since the Islamic Republic of Iran is a powerful and strong country which can defend its territorial integrity and interests across the globe, specially in the Middle-East," IRGC Politburo Chief Javani told FNA on Tuesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has some means and possibilities in areas very close to the Zionist regime and can easily give a response to Israel to make its leaders repent their action," the official stated.

Meantime, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Thursday Iran will respond to any military strike by Israel or the United States with "iron fists."

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