Iran was the prime topic of conversation in meetings between President Shimon Peres and dignitaries in Austria on Monday. When he met in the evening with Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Peres was more aggressive than usual in voicing his concerns about Iran.
“It’s time to put facts on the table and to understand that nuclear arms in the hands of the Iranian administration pose a danger to all of humanity,” he told Amano, adding that the conclusion of agreements between IAEA and Iran was going much too slowly.
Against the backdrop of the 5 +1 negotiations with Iran, Peres and Amano spent a considerable amount of time discussing the IAEA’s role as a leading professional organization in blocking Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Amano made it clear that Iran was not the only issue on the agenda of the international community, but emphasized at the same time that Israel is an important partner of the IAEA.
Peres reminded Amano that Israel was one of the first countries to support the establishment of the IAEA for which Israel has great respect, and underscored that today the work of the IAEA is more important than ever before. Aside from the 5+1 initiative said Peres, the IAEA as a professional non-political entity has the responsibility of putting up a professional struggle against the Iranian nuclear program. The implementation of agreements between the IAEA and Iran is taking too long, he said. Iran is playing for time Peres continued and is not responding to demands.
This casts a negative light on the diplomatic efforts, he said, adding that Iran continues to enrich uranium and to maintain its ability to develop nuclear arms. In addition to developing long range missiles with nuclear warheads, Iran is not keeping to its obligations charged Peres. It is not cooperating with the IAEA and is not providing full information, which is contrary to the confidence building measures that are required of Iran. The IAEA has a mandate to investigate what is going on in the field, and discover the truth behind Iran’s intentions, Peres stated.
Taking a more diplomatic stance towards the end of the meeting, Peres said that Israel was fully confident of the IAEA’s ability to carry out its important mission in a rational manner for the benefit of the whole world.
Nonetheless Peres felt compelled to issue another dire warning that a nuclear Iran will spur a race for the nuclearization of the whole of the Middle East, which will be a threat not only to Israel but the whole world. Earlier in the day at t meeting with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Peres characterized Iran as the most central danger to the world. Its current policy must change said Peres who is on a state visit to Austria. In a reference to the negotiations that the Western powers have been conducting with Iran in relation to its nuclear program, Peres said that the Iranian leadership must change its deeds not just its words. He acknowledged that there has been a change in the tone of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani – but said that it was inadequate.
Israel has nothing against the Iranian people Peres told Fischer only against the Iranian leadership which claims that it is not developing nuclear bombs, but in actual fact is developing long range missiles with nuclear warheads that can strike at targets thousands of kilometers away.
Iran promotes terror and devastation in the world, Peres declared. It finances terror organizations with Hezbollah and Hamas in the foreground.
Noting that economic sanctions imposed on Iran by an international coalition of nation states are set to continue for another six months, Peres made the point that if after that the race towards a nuclear Iran does not stop, it would be worthwhile for Europe to take note of the fact that United States President Barack Obama has steadfastly repeated that there are still other options on the table that would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons – and those options are very serious ones. “The world does not want to see another tragedy such as that of Hiroshima”, said Peres.
Fischer, who in response to an invitation from Rouhani, will be visiting Iran in the near future and will be the Western leader to do so since Rouhani’s election last June, said that he hoped that the agreements between the Western countries and Iran will be honored and that promises would be kept. “There is no question that the current situation is critical,” he stated.
The conversation between the two leaders also focused on the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. All sides are making the most strenuous efforts to reach an agreement, said Peres. “We proved in the past with Egypt and Jordan that peace is possible and vital. I believe we can do it with the Palestinians too.”
Fischer responded that he hoped that the time frame for the peace negotiations would be extended and that the two sides would overcome the crucial problems that still exist. Austria believes that the differences can be resolved, and it is important for this to come about as quickly as possible, said Fischer.
Between meetings Peres also commented on the most recent development regarding former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He had only heard the verdict he said, but not yet read the details. When allegations were first made against Olmert, Peres defended him, saying that according to law a person is innocent until found guilty. After being informed that Olmert had been found guilty, Peres declared that it was a sad day for Israel.