Israel vs. Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel and the West of a military strike against his country as the debate in Israel over the possibility of military action intensified over the weekend.

In an interview with the Egyptian state-owned newspaper Al-Akhbar, Ahmadinejad accused Israel and the United States of building international support for a military strike, and said that "the arrogant should know that Iran will not allow them to take any action against it."

It comes just a few days before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to release a report on Iran's nuclear program. Previous reports have focused on Iran's uranium enrichment program, which it says are solely for civilian purposes. The latest report is to focus on allegations that Iran plans to use the material to build a nuclear warhead, an accusation that Iran has always rejected.

'Greatest threat'

Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres said at the weekend that Iran was the greatest threat facing Israel and the rest of the world. His comments came as the nation debates whether it should carry out an airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Iran is the greatest danger, both for Israel and for the entire world," Peres told a meeting of Druze leaders in a village in northern Israel on Sunday.

Over the last week, Israeli leaders appeared on domestic and international media outlets, campaigning for raising international pressure on Tehran to halt its nuclear program.

"The Iranians are determined to turn into a military nuclear power," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told CNN. "They are ready to deceive, to defy and to deter the rest of the world from doing something about it."

Barak also told the BBC that "paralyzing" sanctions could force Iran to abandon its nuclear program, but that "no option should be removed from the table."

Warnings against unilateral action

Peres also said Israel must build an international consensus on Iran, and that Israel could not take unilateral action. Nearly all the former intelligence chiefs in Israel stressed this point, with former Mossad chief Meir Dagan several months ago calling a military strike against Iranian nuclear centers "stupid" and something that would risk starting a region-wide war.

Amiram Levin, ex-general and deputy intelligence chief from 1998 to 2000, told Israeli radio that Israel "must have an interest in preserving the balance of power in the Middle East."

"We are a tiny drop in this enormous Arab and Muslim sea, and we have no reason to destroy the balance of power and create an escalation that will last for many years," he said, adding that Israel was "too small and in the wrong region" to play the role of world police.

Germany is also taking a cautious approach, with Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle saying that he was "against the idea of floating military options," according to an interview in Tuesday's edition of daily Hamburger Abendblatt.

"These are debates...that strengthen the Iranian leadership rather than weaken it," he told the paper, adding that further sanctions were a possibility.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe echoed those concerns, telling Europe 1 Radio on Sunday that "everything must be done to avoid the irreversible."

"We will continue on this path [of sanctions] because a military intervention could create a situation that completely destabilizes the region," he said.

Growing support for strike?

Speculation is growing that Israel may be planning a pre-emptive strike against Iran. The Haaretz newspaper reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has support from Defense Minister Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman for such a strike.

Barak was in London over the weekend, which Israeli media interpreted as evidence of the government's desire to build international support for military action against Iran. The Guardian newspaper reported that the British military was already preparing for an attack.

Author: Bettina Marx, Nicole Goebel / acb
Editor: Andreas Illmer