Don't Be Fooled, Says Israel, Bomb Iran Instead

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/09/20-3



Israeli official: 'No more time for negotiations' with Iran

Don't Be Fooled, Says Israel, Bomb Iran Instead
- Andrea Germanos, staff writer
Published on Friday, September 20, 2013 by Common Dreams

A senior Israeli official has said that "there is no more time for negotiations" with Iran and that the U.S. should deliver stronger military threats to the country. Israel's prime minister joined the offical in dismissing comments from Iran's new president as a mere "charm offensive" designed to fool the West.

In an interview that appeared in Friday's Israel Hayom, Israeli Minister of Intelligence, International Relations and Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz was asked, "Is there still time for diplomacy with the Iranians?"

teinitz replied, "There is no more time for negotiations." He also repeated a message made by U.S. officials including President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry, as well as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the deal on Syria's chemical weapons was only reached "when there was a real military threat."

Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, was interviewed this week by NBC's Ann Curry and said that his country has "never pursued or sought a nuclear bomb, and we are not going to do so.” These comments echo those by his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.