Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for more international support yesterday in stopping Iran’s nuclear program. During his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu faulted the international community for not drawing a “clear red line” for Iran over its nuclear program.
These are his first comments since an IAEA report released last week showed Iran had doubled its uranium enrichment capacity in an underground processing facility. Iran now has approximately 2,000 centrifuges installed – compared to 1,000 back in May. While previous international sanctions are seriously hurting Iran’s economy, they are not slowing down the nuclear program.
The Iranians still claim that the uranium is for “peaceful purposes” and that they should be allowed to maintain their enrichment program. While President Obama is unlikely to push the envelope on Iran or impose harsher consequences, two things are very clear. First, Iran is well on their way to acquiring a nuclear weapon – there are dozens of more underground sites that IAEA inspectors will never be able to see. Secondly, nothing good will ever come from a nuclear Iran. Many neighboring Middle Eastern countries are very worried about Iran obtaining nuclear ballistic missiles and have started buying missile defense systems in advance. The international community needs to seriously ask themselves soon if a nuclear Iran will make the world a safer place – because they really don’t have that much more time to answer the question.
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