Subscribe to our RSS feed.
Follow Us on TwitterBarak says Iran is not an existential threat to Israel 17Sep09 September 19, 2009
Haaretz - 17 September 2009
Defense Minister Ehud Barak was quoted on Thursday as saying he does not view Iran as a threat to Israel’s existence, a view that would seem to depart from Israeli statements of the recent past.
Israel’s mass-circulation Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted Barak, the head of Israel’s centre-left Labour party, as saying “Iran does not constitute an existential threat against Israel.”
LINK: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115282.html
In response to a question about Tehran’s nuclear program which Israel has said it sees as destined to produce atomic weapons that could put its existence at risk, Barak said in an interview with the paper: “I am not among those who believe Iran is an existential issue for Israel.”
 |
Advertisement |
Barak said “Israel is strong, I don’t see anyone who could pose an existential threat,” although he did add that he viewed Iran as a challenge to the whole world.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly said they view Iran’s atomic development as a threat, pointing at President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s calls for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map, and support for groups seeking Israel’s destruction.
Iran insists its nuclear program is solely intended for energy production.
Western countries have sought to toughen sanctions against Iran, alongside efforts at dialogue by U.S. President Barack Obama, in an attempt to pressure Iran to halt its nuclear development.
Israel is assumed to possess the only atomic arsenal in the Middle East.
Thank You.
