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| Israel may have to take mly action against Iran: Bolton |
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
HERZLIYA, Israel/PARIS: Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said on Monday that Israel may have to take military action to prevent its arch foe Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
Bolton also said that further UN sanctions against the Islamic republic will be ineffective in stopping Iran’s controversial nuclear programme which Israel and the US believe is aimed at developing a bomb — a claim denied by Tehran.
“One can say with some assurance that in the next year the use of force by the United States is highly unlikely,” Bolton told AFP on the sidelines of the Herzliya conference on the balance of Israel’s national security.
“That increases the pressure on Israel in that period of time... if it feels Iran is on the verge of acquiring that capability, it brings the decision point home to use force,” he said. The hawkish former diplomat said that after a US intelligence report published late last year that claimed Iran had suspended a nuclear weapons programme in 2003, the US was unlikely to take military action against it.
“The pressure is on Israel now after the National Intelligence Estimate because, I think, the likelihood of American use of force has been dramatically reduced,” he said. Bolton said that military action against Iran should be taken before Tehran acquires a bomb.
“The calculus in the region changes dramatically once Iran has nuclear capability, meaning the pre-emptive use of force or the overthrow of the Iranian regime has to come before they get the weapon,” Bolton said.
“If you are worried about an Iran with nuclear weapons and an extreme theological regime in power, the time to take the plan of action is before Iran acquires the weapons. “Once it acquires the weapons there is a risk of retaliation with nuclear capability and that’s why Israel is in danger — it is a very small country and two or three nuclear weapons (and) there is no more country. The pressure to act is intensive and the window of time available is narrow.”
Bolton also said that despite Iranian threats to hit hard if it is attacked, “their response will be a lot more measured than people think.” Meanwhile, a French diplomatic source said on Monday that the world power foreign ministers should agree on a new draft sanctions resolution against Iran at a meeting in Germany on Jan. 22.
“The ministers should reach agreement tomorrow on a draft resolution to send to New York,” the source said, declining to be named. “We are really very close to an agreement.” Foreign ministers from the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany are scheduled to meet in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss a possible third UN sanctions resolution against Iran for refusing to halt sensitive nuclear work.
“I think we will be able to transfer a draft resolution to New York in the coming days,” the source told reporters. Russia and China, commercial partners with Iran and long wary of increasing pressure on Tehran, have been more reluctant to impose further penalties since a US intelligence report in December said Iran halted a nuclear weapons programme in 2003.
Some Western diplomats have said any fresh resolution may be less harsh than what was in prospect before the report. Tehran has repeatedly said sanctions will not force it to halt its nuclear programme, which it insists is for peaceful purposes only. Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, says it wants to build a network of atomic power plants.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
