Last update - 00:00 27/08/2007
Lieberman in Farsi interview: Sanctions best option on Iran
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio's Farsi broadcast on Monday that the military option is not suitable for dealing with the Iranian nuclear program, adding that economic sanctions are the most effective way to halt the nuclear program.
In an interview in which the minister also fielded questions from people in Iran, Lieberman called on the Iranian people to pressure its leadership.
"The Iranian people are the ones paying the price, as they are already suffering from the extremism of the current leadership, which has private foreign bank accounts and is not adversely affected by the sanctions," said Lieberman, whose comments were translated into Farsi.
The Iranian government is "a gang of criminals that is endangering the peace in Iran and the entire world," said Lieberman. "Instead of [investing] in the economy, the Iranian leadership is investing in terror and Hezbollah, and I hope that next time the Iranian people go to the polls, they remember that."
"The Iranian leadership headed by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a passing episode," added Lieberman.