Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., January 27, 2009 Shvat 2, 5769 | | Israel Time: 11:43 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei.
(Reuters)
Last update - 00:00 16/05/2007
Experts: IAEA chief exaggerated Iranian nuclear progress
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Yossi Melman

Click here for more articles by Yossi Melman

Reliable information or a diplomatic manipulation - that is the big question surrounding the statements on Monday by Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to the effect that Iran has achieved a significant technological advance in its efforts to enrich uranium. If the information, as reported in The New York Times Tuesday, is accurate, then Iran has reached the stage described by Israeli intelligence as "the point of no return." But experts in the West say that ElBaradei's statements were exaggerated.

If ElBaradei's information is correct, it is now only a matter of between months and two years until Iran reaches the point at which it will have produced sufficient quantities of nuclear material - 20-25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium - to enable it to make a nuclear bomb. This suggests that the time is approaching in which the international community, in particular the U.S. and Israel, will have to make a decision on Iran.
Advertisement
The U.S. will have to decide whether to attack Iran, in order to delay its nuclear program and prevent Tehran from developing its first nuclear weapon. If the U.S. chooses not to attack, the issue may have to be decided by Israel's leadership. An attack against Iran's nuclear installations, its air defenses, airports and communications, would likely lead to an Iranian response that could draw the entire region into war. Israel would be at the epicenter of such a war.

There are, however, experts in the West who believe that ElBaradei spoke this week in the hope of affecting the diplomatic dialogue and disrupting U.S. and EU efforts to prevail upon the UN Security Council to impose further sanctions on Iran. ElBaradei is concerned that further sanctions will ultimately lead to a military confrontation, which he is determined to avoid. Indeed, a year ago, the IAEA chief undertook steps intended to appease Iran. He proposed that Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil be recognized, as Tehran has demanded, but that it be permitted to produce only a small amount of the material.

According to the expert observers, ElBaradei is trying to defuse the justification for the sanctions Israel, the U.S. and the EU are demanding, because, if Iran has already achieved the technological capability sanctions are meant to forestall, there would be no point in imposing them. Therefore, say the same sources, it is unlikely that Iran has reached that "technological threshold," and international sanctions are still justified. Either way, the moment of decision is approaching for all involved.

It is clear, therefore, that 2007, or 2008 at the latest, marks the time when it will become clear whether Iran will have nuclear weapons, with all its implications for Israel, the broader Middle East and the international community.


Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Venezuela's Jews
Jewish community head: 'Chavez's government endorses anti-Semitism.'
Breakthrough start-up
WATCH: Israeli company invents radiation-free lung imaging system.
  1.   ZERO kilograms 03:48  |  Pablo B 16/05/07
  2.   ElBaradei`s exaggerated. ? 05:49  |  Joseph 16/05/07
  3.   What experts? 06:48  |  John Stewart 16/05/07
  4.   ELBARADEI HAS MORE CREDIBILITY 08:22  |  indrajaya 16/05/07
  5.   Denial 08:40  |  An Arab Neighbor 16/05/07
  6.   None aggression treaty 09:13  |  Adel 16/05/07
  7.   Haaretz, Speak Up! 09:29  |  nacl 16/05/07
  8.   Iran will acquire its nuclear deterrent 09:34  |  Clickfool 16/05/07
  9.   iran in denial -headed for self destruction 09:39  |  don 16/05/07
  10.   Off topic: Wolfowitz slides towards oblivion 09:39  |  Clickfool 16/05/07
  11.   Where his sympathy lies 11:19  |  Nuke`m Nick 16/05/07
  12.   # 10, CLICKFOOL 11:59  |  indrajaya 16/05/07
  13.   # 11, NUKE` M NICK 12:31  |  indrajaya 16/05/07
  14.   El Baradei 14:23  |  Mark Lincoln 16/05/07
  15.   What a leader el Baredi too many new states with nukes, 15:31  |  r 16/05/07
  16.   Unprofessional wording 15:33  |  Jacob S. 16/05/07
 Read & React
Obama: Time for Palestinians, Israel to resume peace talks
Responses: 47
Miri Eisin: Is only the Israeli narrative 'the truth' and all the others wrong?
Responses: 24
Bradley Burston: The Gaza War as reality television
Responses: 17
EU aid chief: Hamas 'enormously responsible' for Gaza war
Responses: 57
Summit on Holocaust: Gaza war legitimized equating Jews with Nazis
Responses: 45


More Headlines
11:34 Bomb explodes near IDF patrol along Gaza border
10:27 Israel stymies French push to lift European boycott of Hamas
10:24 Sarkozy to update Shalit's father on latest efforts to free son
07:57 Obama: Time for Palestinians, Israel to resume peace talks
03:31 ANALYSIS / Recognizing that Israel's effort to topple Hamas has failed
11:22 Auschwitz survivors gather to mark Nazi death camp's liberation
08:43 Kadima kicks off campaign with threat to assassinate Hamas chiefs
11:30 After 60 years, Jewish siblings separated in Holocaust reunited
10:46 Israel to face 'catastrophe' without Palestinian state, says Jimmy Carter
09:05 Police say case against Lieberman boosted by newly revealed documents
09:11 Barak seeking to 'Putinize' image to attract Russian vote
11:31 Summit on Holocaust: Gaza war legitimized equating Jews with Nazis
02:20 Head of right-wing think tank: Settlements must be evacuated
11:24 Israel Eurovision singers skip benefit concert for Gaza civilians, citing political tug-of-war
04:15 Gideon Levy / My Shabbat dinner with Rabbi Avraham Ravitz
08:13 Suspect in Tel Aviv pedophile case ran child prostitution ring
08:54 Vatican: Comments by bishop who denied Holocaust unacceptable
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Summer in Israel
Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
Blue And White Forever Israel Army T-shirts
Wear with Proud Donate the Soldiers Kit
You can make a direct IMPACT!
on the life of an Israeli soldier
State of Israel Bonds
During this time of market volatility, Israel bonds can help.
SURF RAMBAM
Keep current about new-wave medical care, education and research.
Camp Kimama Israel 2009
The best place for your children this summer
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Jewish Singles Personal Ads
Find the love of your life on JDate.com
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved