Monday, 12 October 2009
Amid rampant speculations about an Israeli attack on Iran by next year, Washington claims 'the world will not wait indefinitely'' for Iran to cooperate on its nuclear issue.
"The international community will not wait indefinitely for evidence that Iran is prepared to live up to its international obligations," said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after a meeting with her British counterpart, David Miliband, in London.
She said the six-party talks on Iran's nuclear program in Geneva on October 1 were a "constructive beginning, but must be followed by action.”
Clinton and other US officials have not been clear about the kind of “actions” they like to see performed by Iran, though they have very much followed the hawkish stance of the Bush administration regarding Iran's advances in the field of nuclear technology, despite their rhetoric of “change” which, by the way, won Obama the Nobel 'Peace' prize.
"Words are not enough," claimed the former first lady, who had previously threatened to “totally obliterate” Iran while campaigning against Obama to win the Democratic nomination for US presidency in the 2008 elections.
US officials have not responded to challenges by Iran and numerous other countries regarding Israel's possession of nuclear warhead and its refusal to sign any international regulatory agreement against the development, use, and proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Clinton, a self-described ally of Israel, made the remarks during a five-day European tour, which will take her to Switzerland, Britain, Ireland and Russia.
Her trip to Europe comes more than a week after Iranian diplomats and representatives of the P5+1 group of nations (Russia, China, France, Britain and the US plus German) met in Geneva to find a common ground on the nuclear issue.
The meeting, which was held within the framework of Iran's last package of proposals, has been described as “positive and productive” by all parties.
Iran's nuclear program has been under close inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has confirmed the civilian nature of Iran's nuclear activities. Iran is also a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has insisted on total dismantlement of all weapons of mass destruction throughout the world.
Regardless of the upbeat forecast for future cooperation between Iran and the West, Israel resumed its military threats against Tehran.
“If no crippling sanctions are introduced by Christmas, Israel will strike,” said Ephraim Sneh, a former Israeli deputy war minister earlier last week. “If we are left alone, we will act alone,” he boosted.
Tel Aviv, which reportedly houses an arsenal of 200 nuclear warheads, views Tehran's nuclear program as a mortal threat. Israeli leaders have repeatedly warned of bombing Iranian nuclear facilities out of existence.
This is while the Islamic Republic, since its establishment in 1979, has gone to war only once, to defend itself against the Iraq-imposed war in 1980, whereas Israel has invaded Lebanon twice, bombed Syria and Iraq, and regularly bombed and attacked Gaza and other Palestinian areas at will.
The Israeli regime has also masterminded a wave of undercover operations and terror plots in numerous countries, including Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, Iran, Switzerland, and the US.
