Opposition leader Tzipi Livni embarked on a media campaign Wednesday in an effort to convince the international community to take action against Iran’s nuclear program. Speaking with The Jerusalem Post and nine different foreign media outlets, Livni called the Iranian issue, “not political.”
On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report confirming suspicions that Iran is building parts for nuclear weapons.
“Today, the whole world faces an important test: Will they understand that Iran is a threat that must be taken care of?” Livni told the Post.
The Kadima leader explained that Iran is not a political issue.
“This is not something that a particular prime minister is advocating,” she said. “This isn’t an effort for just one side. We must try to bring a strong international decision.”
Livni’s media campaign is focusing specifically on Russia and China, in hopes of convincing the two key countries to intensify their opposition to Tehran in the UN Security Council.
“The report revealed a truth that Israel has been saying for years: Iran is in a nuclear arms race, and Iran must be stopped,” she said in interviews with Russian national television and radio, as well as China’s official news agency.
“Until now, China and Russia avoided dramatic sanctions for economic reasons,” Livni explained to the Post. “In the past, I tried to convince them, but the answer I received is that there is no proof.”
“Now there is proof that this isn’t a Zionist plot,” she added.
As far as China’s claim that the IAEA report doesn’t offer sufficient proof to act against Iran, Livni said “whoever is looking for an excuse can find it, but this is a serious report. They can’t argue with it.”
In interviews with Chinese and Russian media, as well as the BBC, AP, Reuters, CNN, Moscow Television and Sky News, Livni explained that “Tehran’s behavior is a problem for the entire free world. It is time to act.”
“Iran is not only an Israeli problem; it never was. It is a problem for the whole world, and if Tehran will reach its goals, the whole world will pay the price,” she said.
“World leaders must work together and take action,” Livni added. “Make the obvious conclusions from this report. You cannot claim that you don’t have enough information.”
“Iran must be stopped. The time to act is now. There is no longer a dilemma on this issue,” she said.
Earlier Wednesday, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) called the IAEA report “an opportunity for the free world to take action.”
Speaking from the US, Mofaz told Army Radio that he thinks “the time has come to intensify sanctions and paralyze the Iranian economy.”
“The report exposed the true face of Iran and its intentions,” the Kadima MK said. “Anyone who thinks he’s immune [to the Iranian threat] is making a mistake.”
Mofaz, who was born in Tehran and moved to Israel at age 9, explained that Iran’s missile range could reach most European capitals, and will bring “a balance of terror in the Middle East.”
He contended that “military action of any kind, particularly from Israel, is the last and worst course of action at this time, but all options must be on the table and ready.”
“We will not accept a nuclear Iran,” Mofaz said.
BUT…BUT…BUT…THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAID A FEW YEARS AGO–
Livni behind closed doors: Iran nukes pose little threat to Israel
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on Livni to be published Friday.
Livni also criticized the exaggerated use that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making of the issue of the Iranian bomb, claiming that he is attempting to rally the public around him by playing on its most basic fears. Last week, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said similar things about Iran.
The article also reveals for the first time a document Livni prepared and sent to Olmert a few months after the Second Lebanon War proposing a new division of labor between the two. “Enclosed is a proposal for work procedures between us, with the aim of providing an answer to Israel’s strategic needs and facilitating early planning and the formulation of coordinated Israeli positions … within the framework of cooperative relations, full transparency and continuous mutual updates,” wrote Livni.
She described in the document a number of required arrangements: “The prime minister and the foreign minister will hold regular work meetings at least once a week.” In an allusion to her absence form critical discussions during the war in Lebanon, she wrote: “The foreign minister will be invited to meetings with the prime minister on security matters and other meetings with serious implications.”
The most important part of the document relates to the talks with the Palestinians. Livni wrote: “The foreign minister shall represent the prime minister and the government of Israel, and will act on their behalf as the director of the dialogue with the relevant Palestinian representatives, and in accordance with the policy and methods to be coordinated in advance with the prime minster, while keeping him informed.”
It is reasonable to assume that Olmert’s decision to appoint Livni as head of the negotiating team with the Palestinians at the Annapolis summit is connected to the document.
The Haaretz article also reveals for the first time a draft of a document prepared for Livni by her advisor, Dr. Tal Becker of the Foreign Ministry, who is slated to serve as a senior member of the negotiating team with the Palestinians. The draft, named the Diplomatic Horizon, is pessimistic about the chances of reaching a permanent solution in the near future.
