by Omer Dostri
These unequivocal declarations made by Iran's spiritual leader -- the country's highest authority on security and foreign affairs -- is more than a hint of Iran's intention to maintain its nuclear program and its effort to develop nuclear weapons.
Just a week before the
deadline for Iran and world powers to reach a final nuclear agreement,
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered an aggressive
speech on Tuesday that symbolized more than anything the West's failure
in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat.
In his speech, Khamenei
demanded the West immediately lift all sanctions as soon as a final
deal was reached, contrary to the West's demand for gradual sanctions
removal. Khamenei also ruled out freezing Iran's nuclear program for
longer than a decade and reiterated his refusal to allow inspectors
access to Iranian military sites.
These unequivocal
declarations made by Iran's spiritual leader -- the country's highest
authority on security and foreign affairs -- is more than a hint of
Iran's intention to maintain its nuclear program and its effort to
develop nuclear weapons.
Two weeks ago, at a
press conference on the second anniversary of his election, Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani made similar comments. And if all these
statements are not enough to constitute a glaring warning about Iran's
plans, the 2014 Country Reports on Terrorism that was published by the
U.S. State Department earlier this week revealed that Iran's support of
global terrorism has not only continued, but also expanded.
Lifting all sanctions
currently imposed on Iran as part of the final accord would be a
dangerous move that would boost the Iranian economically significantly
and allow it to further increase its support of global terrorism.
Meanwhile, according to
a document revealed last week by WikiLeaks, in 2012 Saudi diplomats in
Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, believed Iran had shipped advanced
nuclear equipment, including centrifuges for enriching uranium, to
Sudan.
Eight months later, in October of that year, foreign media reported that Israel struck an arms factory in Sudan.
Even if the WikiLeaks
information was false (Saudi Arabia did not deny it), it was an
illustration to the West of what Iran is capable of doing to preserve
its nuclear capabilities.
If not in Sudan, Iran could transport to another location and even continue to develop it there.
The series of
declarations, voiced by Iran's most senior officials, who have been
clear about Iran's commitment to continued development of its nuclear
program, indicate that the chances for the final deal between world
powers and Iran by June 30 is quite low.
If indeed a deal is
eventually signed, the West would be compelled to make further gestures
to Iran, making the deal completely redundant.
Even without any further Western
concessions being made, the deal, according to the current details that
have been reported, would enable Iran to, within a few years, turn into a
threatening nuclear power with international legitimacy and a legal
stamp to whitewash any of its violations of U.N. Security Council
resolutions.
Omer Dostri
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12985
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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