Barak to Rice: Iran is building nukes

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 Last update - 14:25 07/11/2008

 

Barak to Rice: Israel convinced Iran working on nuclear arms

 

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies

 

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Friday that Israel was convinced Iran is working toward creating an atomic bomb while simultaneously deceiving the world by negotiating over supervision of its contentious nuclear program.

 

In a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Barak also said Israel maintained its stance that options were on the table for dealing with this threat, including military action.

 

"Israel is convinced Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb," Barak told Rice," adding that Jerusalem "is not taking any option off the table, and we don't recommend that others take any option off the table."

 

During their talks, Barak referred to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's declaration that he would be prepared to engage in dialogue with Iran.

 

Foreign Minister and Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni said on Thursday that Obama's stated readiness to talk to Iran could be seen in the Middle East as a sign of weakness in efforts to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear program.

 

"We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue - in a situation where you have brought sanctions, and you then shift to dialogue - is liable to be interpreted as weakness," Livni said when asked on Israel Radio about policy change toward Tehran in an Obama administration.

 

Her remarks sounded the first note of dissonance with Obama by a senior member of the Israeli government since the Democrat's sweeping victory over Republican candidate John McCain in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday.

 

Asked if she supported any U.S. dialogue with Iran, Livni replied: "The answer is no."

 

Later in the day, Livni described Obama's election as a source of inspiration to millions around the world as she stood next to visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at a joint press conference in the home of the American ambassador to Israel.

 

"I would of course like to congratulate President-elect Barack Obama on his historic victory, a man who has impressed Israelis during his visits here and throughout the campaign by what he represents," she said. "I would like to also express our appreciation to Senator John McCain for his leadership and long-standing friendship."

 

Then she returned to the subject of Iran.

 

"We need to fight extremism, Livni said. We need to continue the pressure on Iran and I believe that the idea of continuing the pressure comes with more intense and effective sanctions on the Iranians."

 

Livni, leading the centrist Kadima party in the February 10 parliamentary election, also said "the bottom line" was that the United States, under Obama, "is also not willing to accept a nuclear Iran."

 

Obama has said he would harden sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks with U.S. adversaries to resolve problems, including the dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

 

The West believes Iran's nuclear enrichment program is aimed at building atomic weapons, an allegation the Islamic Republic denies.

 

Israel, believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, has repeatedly said Iran's nuclear program is a threat to its existence and that it was keeping all options on the table to stop it.