WarSclerotic

Israel Slams UN Silence on PA Rockets – Defense/Security – News – Israel National News.

By Chana Ya’ar

Israel Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor

Israel news photo: UN archive photo / Devra Berkowitz

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations is asking that body’s Security Council why it’s not “shocked” by the constant barrage of rockets and mortars fired by Gaza terrorists at southern Israel.

Ambassador Ron Prosor declared Wednesday during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that the unstable security situation in southern Israel should shock that body’s members – which have often expressed deep dismay at similar situations elsewhere in the world.

Prosor criticized the Council at its session on Wednesday for not condemning the attacks by Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists, who earlier this month killed a 56-year-old Ashkelon man and physically wounded 16 other people in a barrage aimed at the southern region.

Another 14 people were also sent to the hospital with trauma reactions and severe anxiety attacks during the five-day period in which rockets and mortars were fired at Israeli civilian communities.

“The pain caused by these attacks is permanent,” Prosor pointed out. “The scars are both physical and psychological… One million Israelis were compelled to stay home from work last week to ensure their safety… 200,000 children were kept home from school.

“These stories should shock and appall the Security Council and all decent people. Yet, not a single world of condemnation has been uttered by this Council. Not one word.

“The silence speaks volumes,” he said.

Connecting the Nuclear Dots on Iran – THERESE ZRIHEN-DVIR, Regard d’un Ecrivain sur le Monde.

UN report: Iran IS trying to build nuclear bomb warns William Hague | Mail Online.

Senior Foreign Office figure: ‘We’re expecting something as early as Christmas, or very early in the new year’

Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking yesterday in the House of Commons, London, warned the UN report into Iran’s nuclear ambitions could spark a regional arms race.

Israel will launch military action to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon as soon as Christmas, intelligence chiefs have warned.
A report by a UN watchdog into Iran’s nuclear ambitions ‘completely discredits’ the Islamic nation’s protestations of innocence, according to Foreign Secretary William Hague.

The International Atomic Energy Agency found that Iran is developing a nuclear test facility, nuclear detonators and computer modelling for a nuclear warhead that would fit on an existing missile.

Sources say the understanding at the top of the British Government is that Israel will attempt to strike against the nuclear sites ‘sooner rather than later’ – with logistical support from the U.S.

A senior Foreign Office figure has revealed that ministers have been told to expect Israeli military action, adding: ‘We’re expecting something as early as Christmas, or very early in the new year.’

Officials believe President Barack Obama would have to support the Israelis or risk losing vital Jewish-American support in the next presidential election.

In recent weeks, Ministry of Defence sources confirmed that contingency plans have been drawn up in the event that the UK decided to support military action.

But the source ruled out direct British support, adding: ‘Of course we are not in favour of Iran developing a bomb – but do we think they’d use it: no.

‘The bigger concern is it will be impossible to stop Saudi Arabia and Turkey from developing their own weapons.’

Mr Hague said Britain would push for more sanctions against Tehran when the IAEA committee meets later this month.

Meeting the masses: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to supporters while visiting the city of Shahrekord, of Tehran. He vowed that Iran will not retreat ‘one iota’ from its nuclear programme

All smiles: Ahmadinejad hit out at the IAEA, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with ‘baseless’ U.S. claims that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons

 

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, vowed not to retreat ‘one iota’ from its nuclear programme.

In a statement on Middle Eastern affairs, the Foreign Secretary was critical of Israel’s ‘occupation’ of Palestinian land.

But he announced Britain will abstain on a UN vote later this week to give statehood to Palestinians.

Yesterday the Iranian president gave a passionate speech to thousands of supporters in central Iran, and broadcast on live state television, denouncing the UN report.

He hit out at the IAEA, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with ‘baseless’ U.S. claims that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The U.S. has yet to comment on the findings, but France said it is ready to push for sanctions of ‘an unprecedented scale’ if Iran refuses to answer new questions about its nuclear programme.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that if Iran fails to answer concerns raised by the report, the international community should raise diplomatic pressure to a new level.

China isn’t publicly commenting yet on the U.N. assessment in a likely sign that it will wait for Washington and Moscow to signal their intentions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei yesterday said that Beijing is studying the report and repeated calls for dialogue and co-operation.

Speaking to supporters in the city of Shahrekord, Ahmadinejad said Iran will not stop its nuclear development, adopting a defiant position against the report, which could spur efforts for new sanctions against his country.

He said: ‘If you think you can change the situation of the world through putting pressures on Iran, you are deadly wrong. The Iranian nation will not withdraw an iota.’

Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, not weapons production.

Ahmadinejad’s regime is already thought to have built a top-secret explosives test facility at a site in Parchin, just outside Tehran, where it is conducting experiments to develop a weapon.

Scientists are building hi-tech precision detonators which would be essential for a nuclear device, and developing a uranium core for a nuclear warhead, the UN said.

Spreading the word: Ahmadinejad is adopting a defiant position against the report, which could spur efforts for new sanctions against his country

 

Nationalism: Supporters of Ahmadinejad wave flags during his speech in Shahrekord

 

The report also lays bare that Iranian scientists are trying to mount a nuclear payload into their Shahab 3 missiles – which can reach Israel, Iran’s arch foe.

The report compiled by Yukiya Amano is the strongest sign yet that Iran seeks to build a nuclear arsenal, despite Tehran’s insistence its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes.

The document claims that while some of the suspected secret nuclear work by Iran can have peaceful purposes, ‘others are specific to nuclear weapons.’

A 13-page attachment to the agency’s Iran report details intelligence and IAEA research that shows Tehran working on all aspects of research toward making a nuclear weapon, including fitting a warhead onto a missile.

Ahead of the report’s release, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned of a possible Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear programme.

He told Israel Radio that he did not expect any new U.N. sanctions on Tehran to persuade it to stop its nuclear defiance, adding: ‘We continue to recommend to our friends in the world and to ourselves, not to take any option off the table.’

The ‘all options on the table’ phrase is often used by Israeli politicians to mean a military assault.

 

Iran is pursuing its nuclear weapons program at the Parchin military base about 30 kilometres from Tehran, diplomatic sources in Vienna say

 

While some of the suspected secret nuclear work outlined in the annex could also be used for peaceful purposes, ‘others are specific to nuclear weapons’, the report claims.

Some of the information contained in the annex was new – including evidence of a large metal chamber at a military site for nuclear-related explosives testing.

The bulk, however, was a compilation and expansion of alleged work already partially revealed by the agency.

But a senior diplomat familiar with the report said its significance lay in its comprehensiveness, thereby reflecting that Iran apparently had engaged in all aspects of testing that were needed to develop such a weapon.

Also significant was the agency’s decision to share most of what it knows or suspect about Iran’s secret work with the 35-nation IAEA board and the U.N. Security Council after being stonewalled by Tehran in its attempts to probe such allegations.

Copies of the report went to board members and the council, which has imposed four sets of U.N. sanction on Tehran for refusing to stop activities that could be used to make a nuclear weapon and refusing to cooperate with IAEA attempts to fully understand its nuclear program.

The nuclear power plant in Bushehr, southern Iran – a site that may be targeted in a mooted military strike

The agency said the annex was based on more than 1,000 pages of intelligence and other information forwarded by more than 10 nations and material gathered by the IAEA itself.

The report suggests that Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead and includes satellite imagery of a large steel container the IAEA believes is used for nuclear arms-related high explosives tests.

In remarks broadcast on state television, Ahmadinejad said that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano was simply repeating U.S. allegations. ‘He delivers the papers that American officials hand on him,’ Ahmadinejad said.

‘I am sorry that a person is heading the agency who has no power by himself and violates the agency’s regulations, too.’

He repeated Iran’s stance that it is not involved in making a nuclear weapon: ‘They should know that if we want to remove the hand of the U.S. from the world, we do not need bombs and hardware. We work based on thoughts, culture and logic.’

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2059462/UN-report-Iran-IS-trying-build-nuclear-bomb-warns-William-Hague.html#ixzz1dIgo4luH

Posturing Or Preparing For War? What’s Behind Israel’s Tough Words On Iran – Worldcrunch – All News is Global.

Analysis: Israel has threatened Teheran with a military preemptive strike, but tougher sanctions may be what it is really after.

by: admin A drill last week in central Israel simulating a missile attack (Israel Defense Forces)

By Serge Dumont
LE TEMPS/Worldcrunch

GENEVA – On Tuesday, sirens went off in and around Tel Aviv’s International airport. Four days after a drill simulating an Iranian chemical missile attack on the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School, this week’s training was meant to prepare the airport staff and residents of surrounding villages for a massive bombing by Iranian missiles and Hezbollah rockets.

According to recent polls, a narrow majority of Israelis support attacking Iran, with nearly as many people opposed to the idea. But 80% believe that no matter what, the situation is bound to blow up, and that Hezbollah as well as Hamas are sure to support Tehran with attacks targeting their country. That may explain why lines are stretching to get gas masks and why offers for survival kits have flourished on the web.

Last week, Nahum Barnea, a columnist for the popular daily Yedioth Aharonot, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak of secretly planning an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by the end of the year. The public debate that followed did nothing to reassure Israelis.

For Israeli leaders, a military strike is one of many options to be used at the right time. “It is a possibility, but only if the context warrants it and international sanctions are inefficient,” says Tsahi Hanegbi, former President of the powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Commission at the Knesset. On Tuesday, Barak said his country “had yet to decide whether to launch a military operation against Iran” while saying he wasn’t optimistic about the importance and efficiency of the international measures expected as a result of the IAEA report.

If Israel were to attack, it would need the support of the US because its own army would not be able to lead such a major war effort on its own. The Israeli army could hit several Iranian targets, but wouldn’t be able to destroy all of Iran’s facilities, let alone conduct a lengthy war during which Israel itself would risk destruction.

Single-minded preparation

Foreign Affairs Minister Silvan Shalom first got the international community’s attention regarding the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran in 2003. Since then, Israel’s military has been gearing up for the big day. Squadrons of F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers were put together for that purpose. They train regularly to lead long-distance missions. In recent months, anti-bunker bombs were secretly bought from the United States. The arsenal of Jericho ballistic missiles capable of carrying a 750-kilo nuclear charge have been modernized and new spy-satellites were launched. As for the five dolphin submarines, they took part in secret drills with their foreign counterparts. The efficiency of Hetz missiles, which can intercept Iranian Shihab and Sejil missiles, was improved.

Many experts believe Israel’s military threat is just a way of getting the international community to toughen its sanctions against Iran. But on the ground, the war between Iran and Israel has already started, albeit behind the scenes.

Between 2002 and 2010, Meir Dagan and the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad created a five-point plan to slow down the progress of Iran’s nuclear industry, with the help of Western secret services, including the CIA. They disrupted underground supply routes, sabotaged part of the equipment acquired by Iran, launched computer attacks — and also murdered or kidnapped scientists believed to be involved in building a bomb.

Some of these secret operations took place in Switzerland through a secret group led by Mossad’s former director. Most of these actions were aimed at disrupting the computer centers of financial institutions through which Iranian funds were believed to be transiting.

Iran’s Khamenei warns US, Israel… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

    TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme leader warned the United States and Israel on Thursday not to launch any military action against its nuclear sites, saying it would be met with “iron fists,” state television reported.

“Our enemies, particularly the Zionist regime, America and its allies, should know that any kind of threat and attack will be firmly responded to…Our nation, the Revolutionary Guards and army…will answer attacks with strong slaps and iron fists,” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Wednesday that Tehran will not pull back “even a needle’s width” from its nuclear path, even after an incriminating UN report on its nuclear program.

Decrying the UN nuclear watchdog’s report, which was released Tuesday night, Ahmadinejad said it damaged the International Atomic Energy Agency’s dignity and was based on “invalid” US claims.

“You should know that this nation will not pull back even a needle’s width from the path it is on,” he said in a speech carried live on Iranian state television. “Why do you damage the agency’s dignity because of America’s invalid claims?” he asked.

(My tribute to the Israeli Air Force whom the world is relying upon to stop Iran’s bid to arm militant Islam with nuclear weapons. – JW)

Iran fails to fear Barack Obama–Amir Taheri – NYPOST.com.

Perilous misread of US resolve

As expected, the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s clandestine nuclear-weapons program has revealed, once again, that the Islamic Republic is determined to ignore international law and the threat of military action.

Many factors may be behind Tehran’s behavior — most notably, a misreading of the Obama administration’s intentions and America’s ability to impose its will on Iran if necessary.

Iran’s official media have long claimed that President Obama has sent two letters to Iranian “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei. But until yesterday, there had been little information about Obama’s attempts at charming the mullahs with his magic prose.

Now an editorial in Kayhan, a daily Tehran newspaper run by the office of the “Supreme Guide,” has revealed what it describes as “America’s demands” from the Islamic Republic. Since Khamenei has refused to write back to Obama, the editorial can be regarded as his reply.

The paper lists five demands:

* Refrain from action that might disrupt the flow of OPEC’s oil to world markets.

* Stop the campaign to topple the monarchy in Saudi Arabia.

* Stop supporting movements opposed to the Israel-Palestine peace process, and accept Israel’s right to exist.

* Accept the US military presence in Muslim countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

* Don’t support groups that try to create Islamist regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen.

Khamenei’s reply to Obama can be summed up in one phrase: Take a walk!

The editorial asserts that the US is in “global retreat” and that the American military are “scared” of confrontation with Iran. “It is interesting that while the White House, the State Department and the FBI are conducting the campaign of threats against Iran, the American security and military organizations have remained quiet,” Kayhan notes.

The silence of “the head of the Pentagon, the CIA, the [Joint] Chiefs of Staff and the National Security Adviser” indicates that the US “military-security” establishment fears the Islamic Republic. As a sign of that fear, the paper claims that these days the US fleet in the Persian Gulf “promptly answers any question put by the Iranian Central Command.”

“It is true,” the editorial continues, “Iran is America’s No. 1 challenger. But it is also true that the United States’ principal concern today is to reach an accommodation with Iran.” Washington now has “a strong adversary that cannot be deterred,” the paper muses.

It makes it clear that Khamenei wants total victory and is confident of securing it without endangering his hold on power.

While hardly mentioning Israel, the editorial makes clear that its destruction as a Jewish state remains a high priority of Khomeinism and its Arab clients. Convinced that Israel is in no position to attack Iran on its own, Kayhan makes no mention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent threat of military action.

For Khomeinists only one adversary counts: America.

And, since the United States is believed to be in terminal decline, there is no need for Tehran to fear American threats or respond to Obama’s offers. All it need do is wait until Americans realize they have no future in the Middle East and acknowledge Iran as the regional “superpower.”

The editorial reveals a deep misreading at the highest level of Iranian leadership of the situation and the United States’ interests and capabilities.

Khamenei’s analysis is that the US would simply sit back and watch as Iran becomes a nuclear power, wipes Israel off the map, imposes the rule of the “Supreme Guide” from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean and uses Middle East oil as a weapon in global jihad against the Infidel.

Khamenei is also mistaken in his understanding of the “American psychology.” Americans may be reluctant warriors and natural dealmakers — but, when forced to fight, they are not the cowards that Khamenei believes.

Mutual misunderstanding has often been the cause of conflict and war. In the case of Iran and the United States, that misunderstanding seems to be especially acute.

U.S. officials coming to Israel to discuss how to handle Iran – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Blacklisting the central bank, which essentially means banning all business with it, would deal severe blow to Iran’s economy, banking system and currency.

By Barak Ravid and Zvi Bar’el

Two senior U.S. officials will come to Israel next week to discuss plans for new sanctions on Iran in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest report on its nuclear program. Washington hopes to mobilize the European Union and other developed countries to blacklist Iran’s central bank.

Blacklisting the central bank, which essentially means banning all business with it, would deal a severe blow to Iran’s economy, its banking system and the stability of its currency.

	Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran, October 13, 2011.
	Photo by: Reuters

According to Israeli officials, the Americans who will visit Israel next Monday and Tuesday are David Cohen, under secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, who is charge of America’s economic sanctions on Iran, and Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides. They will meet with a host of Israeli government, army and intelligence officials.

From Israel, Cohen will proceed to the United Arab Emirates for similar talks. Dubai serves as a key conduit for Iran’s trade, which totals more than $20 billion a year. Last week, Cohen was in Rome, Paris, London and Berlin to discuss a new round of sanctions with European officials.

The United States is also discussing new sanctions on Iran with Russia and China, but both countries remain adamantly opposed. That means there is little chance of additional sanctions being approved by the UN Security Council, where both countries wield vetoes.

Washington is therefore focusing on mobilizing a “coalition of the willing” to impose new sanctions unilaterally. It hopes this coalition will include Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and more. If all these countries blacklisted Iran’s central bank and imposed new restrictions on its civil aviation and shipping, this would create real pressure on Tehran, U.S. and European officials said.

On Wednesday, Israel released its first official response to the IAEA report.

“The IAEA report corroborates the position of the international community, and of Israel, that Iran is developing nuclear weapons,” read a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office. “The significance of the report is that the international community must bring about the cessation of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, which endanger the peace of the world and of the Middle East.”

The Foreign Ministry also launched a major campaign to urge other countries to impose new sanctions on Iran, telling all Israeli ambassadors to make this a top priority.

Iran predictably rejected the IAEA report, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday vowed in an interview with state television that Iran wouldn’t retreat “one iota” from its nuclear program. But he denied that it seeks nuclear weapons, and said the IAEA was discrediting itself by siding with “absurd U.S. claims.”

Tehran also kept up its threats against an Israeli military strike: Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri on Wednesday told the Iranian television station Alalam an Israeli attack would lead to its “destruction,” adding, “If pillars of smoke rise from our nuclear facilities, a similar drama could be seen in other regions as well.” Nor would Iran’s response “be limited to the Middle East,” he said.

But opposition figures said the government is divided over what to do next, and some of Ahmadinejad’s critics accused him of deliberately inflaming the nuclear issue to distract attention from his own political woes.

Nevertheless, they said, they did not foresee either significant new sanctions – given the Russian and Chinese opposition – or military action against Iran.

Indeed, while China declined comment on the IAEA report on Wednesday, saying it was still studying it, the Russian foreign ministry flatly ruled out new sanctions, calling the report a “biased” compilation of well-known facts intended to “juggle” public opinion.

“Any additional sanctions against Iran would be perceived by the international community as an instrument for regime change in Tehran,” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov explained to the Interfax news agency.

In July, Moscow unveiled a plan for renewed Iranian negotiations with the IAEA, and it is expected to hold intensive discussions with Tehran in the coming days.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security.

DEBKAfile Special Report November 10, 2011, 9:04 AM (GMT+02:00)

F-15 at Decimomannu air base, Sardinia

A senior Foreign Office official says British government ministers have been told to expect Israeli military action in the wake of the UN watchdog report “as early as Christmas or very early in the new year,” the London Daily Mail reported Thursday, Nov. 10.  The ministers were told that Israel would strike Iran’s nuclear sites “sooner rather than later” – with “logistical support” from the US.

According to the British paper, which has good military and intelligence ties in London, President Barack Obama would “have to support the Israelis or risk losing Jewish-American support in the next presidential election.” The bigger concern is that once Iran is nuclear-armed, it will be impossible to stop Saudi Arabia and Turkey from developing their own weapons to even out the balance of nuclear terror in the Middle East.

debkafile‘s military sources add that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has told Obama more than once this year, “If Iran gets nuclear arms, Turkey will get nuclear arms.”

The Daily Mail goes on to report that in recent weeks, British Ministry of Defense sources confirmed that contingency plans had been drawn up in the event that the UK decided to support military action.
debkafile refers to an earlier report that the British chief of staff, Gen. Sir David Richards, paid a secret visit to Israel on Nov. 2, followed the next day by the arrival in London of the Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak for talks with British defense and military heads.
The reference to US logistical support is explained by our military sources as pointing to the Libyan model of military intervention whereby France, Britain and Italy spearheaded the action against the Qaddafi regime while the United States from “a back seat” laid on satellite and aerial intelligence and placed at their disposal its logistical supply network, including the in-flight refueling of bombers and ordnance.
Transposing this model to an offensive against Iran, Israel’s air and naval forces would front the attack on Iran with logistical and intelligence backup from the United States, while leading NATO powers France, Britain, Germany, Holland and Italy would participate directly or indirectly in the Israeli operation.
Since this attack would almost certainly bring forth reprisals from Tehran and its allies, Syria, Hizballah and the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami, it would almost certainly expand into a wider Middle East conflict, thus also broadening US and West European military intervention.

Prospects are fading for the alternative to military action – tough new sanctions able to choke Iran’s financial operations and oil exports after the nuclear agency confirmed its surreptitious attainment of a nuclear weapon capability.

Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov promised visiting Iranian official Ali Baqeri that “Any additional sanctions against Iran will be seen… as an instrument for regime change in Tehran. That approach is unacceptable to us and the Russian side does not intend to consider such proposals.”

China will certainly go along with Russia on this.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s first response to the IAEA report was to attack its credibility and declare that Iran would continue its nuclear program regardless of its findings.

Oman Tribune – the edge of knowledge.

VIENNA Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and how to arm a Shahab-3 medium-range missile with an atomic warhead, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a report as western nations rounded angrily on Iran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report detailed evidence showing concerted, covert efforts to acquire the capability to make atomic bombs and conducting secret research. These included, computer modelling of a nuclear warhead, testing explosives in a large metal chamber at the Parchin military base near Teheran and making nuclear warheads fit inside Shahab 3 missiles.

It voiced ‘particular concern’ about the information that Iran had built a large explosives vessel at the Parchin military complex to conduct hydrodynamic experiments, which are “strong indicators of possible weapon development.”

Some of the cited research and development work by Iran have both civilian and military applications, but “others are specific to nuclear weapons,” said the report.

“I think the facts lay out a pretty overwhelming case that this was a pretty sophisticated nuclear weapons effort aimed at miniaturising a warhead for a ballistic missile,” said prominent US proliferation expert David Albright.

The report said Iran has started moving nuclear material to an underground facility for the pursuit of sensitive atomic activities.

It also said Iran had continued to stockpile low-enriched uranium (LEU) and one prominent US think-tank said it had enough of the material for four nuclear weapons if it refines it further.

The IAEA document showed that Iran had now installed two sets of 174 machines each for refining uranium to a fissile purity of 20 per cent at Fordow near Qom. The centrifuge machines were not yet operational.

Iran vowed on Wednesday it “will not budge an iota” from its nuclear path and an Iranian general warned Israel of “destruction” if it launched an attack.

The words of defiance came as the United States and its allies said they were looking at imposing more sanctions on Iran, and Teheran’s chief ally, China, urged the Islamic republic to cooperate with the IAEA.

Russia said the report risked damaging the chance of a renewal of the talks. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast on state TV: “We will not budge an iota from the path we are committed to.”

He reiterated that Iran’s nuclear programme was exclusively peaceful in nature, saying “we don’t need the atomic bomb.”

His deputy armed forces chief, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, warned that any sign of Israel carrying out threats to attack Iran’s nuclear sites “will see its destruction.”

Jazayeri said in an interview with Iran’s Arabic-language channel Al Alam that the Israeli nuclear site of Dimona was “the most accessible” target.

But he also stated that “our response would not be limited to the Middle East.”

Israel called on the world to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an IAEA report confirmed long-standing concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The IAEA report corroborates the position of the international community, and of Israel, that Iran is developing nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu’s office said.

“The significance of the report is that the international community must bring about the cessation  of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons which endanger the peace of the world and of the Middle East,” it said.

Speculation about an imminent attack on Iran was fuelled last week when Israel test-launched a long-range missile near Tel Aviv and by comments by Netanyahu that Teheran’s nuclear programme posed a “direct and heavy” threat.

Western nations rounded angrily on Iran. France demanded unprecedented UN Security Council sanctions if Iran’s defiance continued, the EU said its concerns were seriously aggravated and even ally China said Iran must be sincere after the IAEA report.

A US official said: “We don’t take anything off the table when we look at sanctions. We believe there is a broad spectrum of action we could take.”

France’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying “we are prepared to adopt… unprecedented sanctions” should Iran refuse to cooperate with the IAEA.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in the case of Iranian intransigence, “more severe sanctions would be inevitable” but stressed “we rule out all discussion on a possible military option.”

“Russia is disappointed and bewildered that the report is being turned into a source adding to the tensions over the problems connected to the Iranian nuclear programme,” the foreign ministry said.

The main finding in the IAEA report was that secret weapons-relevant research may continue.   The information that Iran last month moved a “large cylinder” with LEU to the Fordow site was included in the report yet pointing to military aspects of Teheran’s nuclear programme.