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Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni addressing university students in Beijing on Monday. (Reuters)
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FM: World must halt Iran nukes regardless of economic interest
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
tags: Avigdor Lieberman, Israel 

Countries must unite in preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons technology, even if that clashes with their own narrow economic interests, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday.

"Behind almost every conflict that we have in the Middle East, one can see the long arms and shadow of Iran," Livni said in a speech to university students in Beijing, where she is seeking Chinese support for new United Nation sanctions.

"If this dangerous regime ... masters the technology of developing nuclear weapons, then the stability that we are trying to build in the Middle East will vanish," Livni said, citing Iran's support for militant anti-Israeli groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
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China could play a crucial role in defusing the Iranian nuclear dispute by supporting tougher sanctions, she said, adding that pressure needed to be intensified before Iran mastered the means to produce nuclear weapons.

"China on this has a crucial role as a member of the Security Council of the United Nations," she said, adding that past efforts to impose sanctions had been diluted by compromise.

China, the four other permanent United Nations Security Council members - the United States, Russia, France and Britain - and Germany are preparing to discuss a possible new resolution that Western powers want to authorize intensified sanctions against Tehran.

China agreed to two earlier rounds of Security Council sanctions against Tehran but, like Russia, has said it fears additional sanctions demanded by Washington and other Western powers will exacerbate tensions.

Iran has shrugged off earlier sanctions, insisting its nuclear program is
peaceful.

"The nature of sanctions can only work if it is, and if they are, concrete, important to the other side and being taken by the international community in consensus," Livni told the audience of students and academics.

Livni also said China could play a positive role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by encouraging other Middle Eastern states to the table and encouraging what she called "moderates" in the process.

Livni's visit comes in a week highlighting China's growing but still cautious role in the volatile Middle East. Jordan's King Abdullah arrives in Beijing on Monday for a visit that will also address Middle Eastern conflicts.

While keeping solid ties with Israel, Beijing has sought to maintain strong ties with other Middle Eastern states that are traditional partners or supply much of its imported oil. Iran is China's third biggest supplier of imported crude oil, behind Angola and Saudi Arabia.

Livni's visit to China comes on the heels of a trip to Europe last week by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts with French and British leaders and push for new UN sanctions against Iran.

Olmert earlier in the month made a snap visit to Moscow to press his case.

The intensive diplomacy is part of an effort to force Iran to abandon its nuclear program that Washington says is an attempt to acquire an atomic bomb.

While both the French and British leaders came out strongly in favor of new Iran sanctions, China has joined fellow permanent U.N. Security Council member Russia in opposing such measures.

Beijing generally shies away from signing on to measures that it considers undue interference in another country's internal affairs. China's need for export markets and energy resources has also prompted it to draw close to Iran and mute Western attempts to force the regime to change its policies.

Lieberman hones in on Iranian nuclear issue

Meanwhile, Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman has set up 12 working groups in cooperation with the defense establishment to deal with different aspects of the crisis over Iran's nuclear program.

The conclusions and recommendations of the working group are expected to be included in a document Lieberman will present to the cabinet later this year.

In recent months, with the agreement of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Lieberman has intensified his involvement on the Iranian issue and has been holding regular meetings with relevant officials in the defense establishment.

This activity has resulted in a certain degree of dissatisfaction in Defense Ministry circles.

The meetings with Lieberman include representatives of the foreign and defense ministries, the Atomic Energy Committee, the Israel Defense Forces (with particular focus on Military Intelligence) and the Mossad intelligence agency.

The different working groups will be tasked to present the cabinet with an up-to-date picture of Iran's efforts to independently develop nuclear weapons and the various implications of the escalating crisis for Israel.

Some of the groups are focusing on monitoring the technological progress Iran is making toward developing nuclear weapons; the type of public relations activities Israel is undertaking on the issue; and the efforts being made to explain the situation to the public in Israel.

To date the cabinet has not often discussed the Iranian nuclear program, and Olmert has been holding periodic talks on the matter to monitor developments.

These meetings are being carried out in closed sessions.

Notwithstanding the successful diplomatic foray of Olmert to Europe last week, during which both France and Britain expressed their complete support, intelligence assessments in Israel remain unchanged in their pessimism on the efficacy of economic sanctions, in their current form, to block Iran's efforts.

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  • Livni heads to China in drive against Iran nuclear program
  • Military Intelligence: Iran will cross nuclear threshold by 2009
  • Solana and Iran's new top nuclear official to meet next week
  • Bush warns nuclear Iran could spur 'World War III'
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      1.   Iran has every right to deter Israel 07:17  |  George 29/10/07
      2.   A danger within itself.... 07:50  |  Esther 29/10/07
      3.   I am all behind Tzipi Livni, hopefully Israel`s next Prime 09:09  |  Aviva 29/10/07
      4.   Nice photo of Lieberman 09:22  |  Clickfool 29/10/07
      5.   Post a picture of yourself Clickfool..suprise us 10:23  |  British academic 29/10/07
      6.   The problem is fear 10:34  |  Adel 29/10/07
      7.   Livni`s pointless visit to China 10:50  |  Clickfool 29/10/07
      8.   #2 toEsther 11:00  |  a jew 29/10/07
      9.   International Relations 101 11:07  |  Paulo 29/10/07
      10.   THE REAL NATURE OF COMMUNIST AND ZIONIST 11:36  |  indrajaya 29/10/07
      11.   O Poor Gourge (#1), Gourge & EXTERMINATION 12:09  |  Gil 29/10/07
      12.   WHY is Livni N O W dispatched to BEIJING? 12:19  |  H.H.M 29/10/07
      13.   fm world must stop, who 13:08  |  amin 29/10/07
      14.   PAULO Europe opposes Iranian nukes.Not a real issue for them 13:53  |  PETER S.M. 29/10/07
      15.   indrajaya - spoken like a true-blue TNI "liberator" 13:54  |  CK Tan 29/10/07
      16.   INDRAJAYA Don`t be rude to China.Remember all the Chinese murderd 13:57  |  PETER S.M. 29/10/07
      17.   The daughter of a terrorist 13:58  |  Chris Linthwaite 29/10/07
      18.   I Do not buy it FM Livni 14:06  |  Mark B. 29/10/07
      19.   Peter SM and selectivity 14:17  |  Truth 29/10/07
      20.   re: Peter SM 14:51  |  Paulo 29/10/07
      21.   No shame 15:10  |  Sheldon B. 29/10/07
      22.   Truth - who occupies ALL the land in the ME 15:10  |  British Academic 29/10/07
      23.   "Truth" hits the nail on the head # 19 15:25  |  Clickfool 29/10/07
      24.   "the stability we are trying to build in the Middle East`???? 15:31  |  Michael 29/10/07
      25.   This is about time the world became nuclear-weapon free. 15:36  |  Hasib 29/10/07
      26.   Israel = Nuclear Hypocrites 15:39  |  POP 29/10/07
      27.   A day to remember 15:51  |  Natallie Durson 29/10/07
      28.   Half Ass Backwards 15:52  |  Double Click 29/10/07
      29.   A Rising Iran 16:41  |  Mr. Mojo 29/10/07
      30.   Mr Mojo - smart is not a word i would use to describe Iran 17:06  |  British Academic 29/10/07
      31.   Israel = Nuclear Hypocrites 17:12  |  POP 29/10/07
      32.   THIS IS RICH!!! 17:29  |  Kevin 29/10/07
      33.   Does anybody remember? 17:52  |  Axel 29/10/07
      34.   The King of Saudi Arabia 18:00  |  Chris Linthwaite 29/10/07
      35.   POP Yes Yes OK 18:03  |  Gil 29/10/07
      36.   POP Yes Yes OK 18:05  |  Gil 29/10/07
      37.   `pointless?` here is the point. 18:50  |  frenz 29/10/07
      38.   hop on pop 18:59  |  frenz 29/10/07
      39.   Mr. Mojo #29 19:07  |  Westwell 29/10/07
      40.   just some say-so speeches 19:27  |  Kris 29/10/07
      41.   Desperate Israel / Livni`s charms 19:31  |  Westwell 29/10/07
      42.   mojo be smokin 19:32  |  frenz 29/10/07
      43.   Yemen, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia 20:55  |  Moshe Braveheart 29/10/07
      44.   To Axel (#33) 21:06  |  Morris Valentine 29/10/07
      45.   # 41 morris 21:27  |  Axel 29/10/07
      46.   #40 Moshe Braveheart 21:30  |  Chris Linthwaite 29/10/07
      47.   To Axel (#42) 22:20  |  Morris Valentine 29/10/07
      48.   Strange Bedfellows? 22:45  |  M D Levi 29/10/07
      49.   # 44 morris 22:59  |  Axel 29/10/07
      50.   If Israel makes peace with the Palestinians.... 22:59  |  Bryan 29/10/07
      51.   Not qualified to be FM or PM 23:06  |  Mark C 29/10/07
      52.   Paulo, o Portugues 23:13  |  Ace Fighter 29/10/07
      53.   narrow economic interest 23:45  |  democrat 29/10/07
      54.   Typical poor Haaretz journalism... 23:50  |  bat yam 29/10/07
      55.   To M D Levi (#45) 23:52  |  Morris Valentine 29/10/07
      56.   Durson - I Thought We Run You Out Of This Talkback On The 00:05  |  Eli 30/10/07
      57.   Click the Fool 00:55  |  The Gentile 30/10/07
      58.   What About Our Nukes 01:32  |  Moshe 30/10/07
      59.   re: Truth 01:38  |  Efox 30/10/07
      60.   re: democrat 01:40  |  Efox 30/10/07
      61.   re: Chris Linthwaite 01:41  |  Efox 30/10/07
      62.   re: Hasib 01:43  |  Efox 30/10/07
      63.   re: Kevin 01:44  |  Efox 30/10/07
      64.   To Axel (#46) 02:22  |  Morris Valentine 30/10/07
      65.   What can replace Iran in suppying oil to China? 03:34  |  Fortuna Benmayor 30/10/07
      66.   Persian Pigs 04:06  |  Future 30/10/07
      67.   "TRUTH" Europe merely going along?? Europe has its own policies 04:14  |  PETER SM 30/10/07
      68.   #54 Fortuna---"Nothing", zip, nada, 05:34  |  ballistic 30/10/07
      69.   # 64 morris 13:14  |  Axel 30/10/07
      70.   Lovni 13:56  |  jjvanka 30/10/07
      71.   To Axel (#64) 18:08  |  Morris Valentine 30/10/07
      72.   IRAN NUKES 21:29  |  HARVEY GRAHAM 30/10/07
      73.   Hypocrisy is written all over Bush/Cheney & Israel government 03:23  |  Worried sick 31/10/07
      74.   look people 17:03  |  nadir 31/10/07
      75.   DOES AMERICA NEED CLOSE UP SHOP AROUND THE WORLD 17:24  |  STEVE SPACUCELLO 31/10/07
      76.   Isreal has nuclear weapons so why not Iran??? 17:46  |  Taz 31/10/07
      77.   For ballistic, # 68. 02:10  |  Fortuna Benmayor 01/11/07
      78.   Taz: Israel doesn`t want to wipe others "off the ea