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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaking at the Knesset's Chagall Hall on Wednesday. (Kobi Gideon / BauBau)
Last update - 02:49 29/04/2007
Olmert denies remarks on hitting Iran nuclear sites
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters

The Prime Minister's Office on Saturday denied that Ehud Olmert had told a German magazine Iran's disputed nuclear program could be severely harmed by firing 1,000 cruise missiles during a 10-day attack.

The weekly news magazine Focus said its reporter, Amir Taheri, asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an interview whether military action would be an option if Iran continued to defy the United Nations. It quoted Olmert as responding: "Nobody is ruling it out."

"It is impossible perhaps to destroy the entire nuclear program but it would be possible to damage it in such a way that it would be set back years," Focus quoted Olmert as saying. "It would take 10 days and would involve the firing of 1,000 Tomahawk cruise missiles," it quoted him as saying.
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Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisen, said the prime minister had spoken to the author of the Focus article, but she said Olmert did not make the comments that were attributed to him. Eisen said the meeting was not an interview and was conducted for background purposes, on the understanding that it would not be used.

However, Taheri said, "It was clear to all sides that this was an interview." He said he had not recorded the conversation, but had taken notes during and after the encounter. "Olmert's bureau recorded the meeting," he said.

Taheri stood by his interview but clarified that the prime minister was not threatening Iran, but rather discussing a theoretical possibility only.

Taheri said he was sorry about the media storm over the article, and he had instructed the magazine to remove the summary of the interview from its Internet site because "it was sensationalist and took Olmert's statements - which were mentioned in passing - out of context."

Taheri said the Internet edition had published only part of Olmert's statements.

Ulrich Schmidla, a foreign affairs editor at Focus magazine, said the interview would be published in full and with no changes, with Taheri's approval, in Monday's issue.

Taheri, a freelance reporter, was a regular contributor to Focus, he added. Schmidla also said, "The reason we took the article off the Web site is because it focused unfairly on the military option, although Olmert had stressed the importance of negotiations."

Alaeddin Broujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, dismissed Olmert's reported comments.

"Naturally this bragging by Olmert is not something that can actually take place in practice," Broujerdi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. "If America and Israel ever made such a mistake, they know better than anyone else what the consequences would be."

Focus quoted Olmert as saying UN sanctions should be given a chance to work before military action was considered. "We must give the (UN) process time to take effect," it quoted him as saying. "We have no intention of attacking Iran at the moment."

Olmert was also quoted as saying he doubted whether Iran's nuclear program was as far advanced as Tehran said. "I don't think that Iran is about to cross the nuclear technology threshold as its leaders claim," he was quoted as saying. "We still have time to stop them."

Taheri, an Iranian exile living in Europe, is known as a harsh critic of the regime in Tehran. Last year Canada's National Post had to publish a retraction of a mistake based on an article by Taheri stating that the Iranian Parliament had passed a law requiring Jews to wear a yellow star.
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  1.   Ah Solana, my Solana! He wanted GOVT of "technocrats" in PA. 09:54  |  Vittorio 28/04/07
  2.   Iran - guilty until proven innocent 10:22  |  Clickfool 28/04/07
  3.   Iran - guilty until proven innocent (part 2) 10:27  |  Clickfool 28/04/07
  4.   Solana Talk to ETA and Al Quaida 10:36  |  Laila 28/04/07
  5.   What this my mean 11:32  |  Druid 28/04/07
  6.   Solana`s Crap 14:04  |  Brod 28/04/07
  7.   to 2 iran didnt allow atomic agency normal inspection 14:05  |  Richard Reid 28/04/07
  8.   Indeed, nobody should rule out any option when it comes to the 14:08  |  Petra 28/04/07
  9.   More stupid comments by Olmert 14:14  |  Ronnie Wolman 28/04/07
  10.   Big mouth 14:19  |  S 28/04/07
  11.   Well, Olmert tells us exactly what it will take 14:28  |  Johnboy 28/04/07
  12.   Just one question for Olmert 14:36  |  From the Moon 28/04/07
  13.   Chateau Haut Brion Pessac-Lognan 1982 14:48  |  Henry in Canada 28/04/07
  14.   Unintended Consequences = disaster 14:55  |  spyguy 28/04/07
  15.   As Usual Olmert the idiot opens his mouth 15:16  |  Shepherd 28/04/07
  16.   I`d rather see tighter sanctions 15:16  |  Dave 28/04/07
  17.   2,3 Iran cheated for 20 years. Proof = Free Inspectors 15:18  |  Logician 28/04/07
  18.   Olmert only yesterday said the exact opposite 15:19  |  Chanan 28/04/07
  19.   Waiting for more proof on Iran is not good for Clicky health 15:23  |  Tosefta 28/04/07
  20.   Always, always what Israel or America could do 15:39  |  Clickfool 28/04/07
  21.   Focused on Iran 15:41  |  Abe 28/04/07
  22.   Clicky`s Blather 15:53  |  leon 28/04/07
  23.   Iran is innocent even if it built a thousand nuclear bombs 15:58  |  Iranian 28/04/07
  24.   Solana and Euros in gereral are cowards and totally useless... 16:05  |  PK 28/04/07
  25.   #14 Clickfool, it may also mean the reverse.. 16:13  |  Johnboy 28/04/07
  26.   WOW!! Olmert`s latest pronouncements.... 16:13  |  Esther 28/04/07
  27.   Both Olmert and Bibi should retire...... 16:23  |  Esther 28/04/07
  28.   Olmert`s office on Saturday denied the quotes.Fool Johnboy dont 16:32  |  PETER. S.M 28/04/07
  29.   BREAKING NEWS: Clickfool is a creation of Zionist propaganda ! 16:46  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/04/07
  30.   Iranian, #18 16:53  |  HonestAbe 28/04/07
  31.   Henry,whats really popping... 16:57  |  Ronnie Wolman 28/04/07
  32.   ahh!! Olmert 17:04  |  Shmuel 28/04/07
  33.   US couldn`t hot Osama with a dozen cruise missles 17:07  |  Omran 28/04/07
  34.   To Iranian # 23 17:16  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/04/07
  35.   to #21 you have not a little of common sense 17:17  |  Shmuel 28/04/07
  36.   Another idiotic slip by Olmert? 17:19  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/04/07
  37.   Abe # 21 Unfocused 17:21  |  Jeff Northridge 28/04/07
  38.   #13 Henry in Canada 17:26  |  Boycott 28/04/07
  39.   Iranian # 23 In That Case,... 17:31  |  Jeff Northridge 28/04/07
  40.   Shepherd #15 17:35  |  S 28/04/07
  41.   Clickfool #20 17:38  |  HonestAbe 28/04/07
  42.   Idiot 17:48  |  Paulo 28/04/07
  43.   Our PM 17:49  |  S 28/04/07
  44.   #12 Not from the Moon 17:50  |  Yonatan 28/04/07
  45.   re: Brod #6 17:51  |  Paulo 28/04/07
  46.   Olmert needs to be put 18:07  |  Mark Lincoln 28/04/07
  47.   Interesting suggestion 18:20  |  Chris Linthwaite 28/04/07
  48.   golani 18:29  |  idf 28/04/07
  49.   Henry the Schmock 18:55  |  Fortuna Benmayor 28/04/07
  50.   olmert 19:06  |  simone meghnagi 28/04/07
  51.   Please launch missiles, it will help impeach Bush 19:32  |  Pablo B 28/04/07
  52.   Russia eagerly awaits the test of their Tor M-1 missile system 19:50  |  Pablo B 28/04/07
  53.   Iran is begging to be blown to bits 20:02  |  Richard S 28/04/07
  54.   Nuking Iran Nuking Israel 20:07  |  Dagma 28/04/07
  55.   Iran doesn`t need a reactor to make nuke weapons 20:11  |  Pablo B 28/04/07
  56.   Honest Abe: I hate to bring this up, but 20:19  |  Omran 28/04/07
  57.   Finally the chance for group to counter the war-mongering AIPAC 20:31  |  Pablo B 28/04/07
  58.   President Olmert 20:53  |  Dik 28/04/07
  59.   The unexpected from the fourth dimension 21:14  |  Peter 28/04/07
  60.   Omran: then we must pin pricks, just like you say 21:19  |  Richard S 28/04/07
  61.   Iranians Voted For Genocide 21:34  |  Efox 28/04/07
  62.   re: Pablo B 21:46  |  Efox 28/04/07
  63.   re: Chris Linthwaite 21:55  |  Efox 28/04/07
  64.   Saudi Plot Interrupted 22:09  |  amazed american 28/04/07
  65.   Reply to Jeff Northbridge 36 22:13  |  Abe 28/04/07
  66.   It`s all part of the plan - the untouchables 22:16  |  Michael H. 28/04/07
  67.   RAINING DEATH ON IRAN 22:19  |  Ishmael Ishmael 28/04/07
  68.   Richard S: Julius Caesar 22:28  |  Omran 28/04/07
  69.   Efox: Iranians Voted For Genocide 22:32  |  Omran 28/04/07
  70.   hitting iran... 22:37  |  Shmuelshachor 28/04/07
  71.   Efox: saving the world from an inevitable Nuclear War 22:39  |  Omran 28/04/07