Barak: Iran bought 5 weeks for nuke work with IAEA talks
Barak: Iran bought 5 weeks for n… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.
Iran bought five weeks for its nuclear program through talks with the international community under the auspices of the UN International Atomic Energy Association, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an interview with CNN’s Kristiana Amanpour on Thursday.
Barak spoke prior to a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey in Washington. During that meeting, which lasted over an hour, the officials discussed a wide range of issues, including Iran, Syria, US aid to Israel, maintaining Israel’s qualitative edge in the region, and the Iron Dome missile-defense system.
“I am realistic enough to not be so optimistic about talks with Iran,” he said. “The Iranians have a history of deceiving the world, something through steps like this. So we are a little bit skeptical.”
Barak mentioned a Muslim notion called Takia, which he said grants Muslims the right to lie in order to deceive non-Muslims, for the sake of the religion.
“It is clear that the Iranians are focused on reaching nuclear capability, and they are ready to defy and deceive the whole world,” he said.
Asked if he believed the sanctions promoted by the international community will be enough to avert a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Barak stated that “the sanctions are quite effective, but are far away from working.” He added that Ayatollah Khomenei had probably not yet given the order to start actually building a nuclear bomb, but said that this was only because they feared this would lead to a military strike.
Barak said that if Iran were to stop enriching uranium past 20%, move their 20% enriched uranium to a friendly country, and decommission their installation in Qom, and agree to IAEA conditions, Israel would be satisfied. “This should be the threshold (for negotiations),” he said. “If this threshold is not set at the opening of negotiations, they will never be met.”
Barak threatened that “all options are on the table” when asked whether or not there was a possibility that Israel could strike Iranian facilities before the start of the next round of talks, set to take place in Baghdad.
“It will be extremely more complicated, it will be extremely more dangerous… to deal with Iran once it goes nuclear,” he said. “It happened already with North Korea, it happened with Pakistan.”
Asked if Israel would inform the US if it decides to attack Iran, Barak said “we have very open, frank conversations with the US about these kinds of things… We do whatever is reasonable.”
“I don’t want to implicate the United States, I don’t want to drag the United States into anything,” he added, saying that there is no difference in Israeli and US intelligence assessments of Iran.
Turning to Syria, Barak had some harsh words for President Bashar Assad. “What is happening there is a tragedy, it’s a crime. They are slaughtering their people there by the day,” he said, adding that the international community should take action, including sanctions, to stop this. “Anything from providing them with weapons to creating safe areas along the borders” for citizens, Barak said.
Barak singled out the Russians and the Chinese for the failure of the United Nations Security Council to take effective action against Assad.”Assad’s fall would be a major blow to Iran… it would weaken dramatically both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. It would be very positive,” Barak said.
WarSclerotic 
April 19, 2012 at 11:53 PM
There is a very distinct threat to the free world that implies that Iran wants to kill all Jews and Christians and aoother very distinct threat inside the United States that cults are still trying to overthrow the U.S. Patriot system too to prevent the U.S. from going to WAr agaginst The Iranian Government or finnish Destroying the Terrorist Threat Globaly too. By this I mean that the POlitical system inside the U.S. is actually trying to steer U.S. national Security and Israeli Government Militaries from Going to war against Iran and The Terorists at least until the Election is over so the POlitical systemcan lie their way into a Superior Military failure and make it look like we are actually supporting Israel too. While the POlitical Conspiracy continues to portray that The U.S. is very Supportive to Israel and then keeps Israeli Government from taking action. The Mitt Romney is going into this with a gun ho action in the POlitical realm then when or if getting elected will probably stall out because of Political Corruption. Which will make the U.S. and Our MIlitary more Vulnerable too. The Israeli Government if has any Millitary support from The U.S. should go this Covertly and drag the U.S. Political situation into this with a Vengeance. The P-3 and P-5+1 should be made aware of this and go there independently too while forcing the U.S. Government to go there through Congress and Commit to destroying Iran. Broken Spear
April 20, 2012 at 12:58 PM
” Iran bought five weeks for nuke work…” . Is that so ? Israel can surprise Iran with no connection with this meeting or another.
At least, that is what i am expecting from the one of the true military powers in the world when the homeland is in danger.