World must stop Iran's nuclear drive, warns Israel

Jerusalem: The world must act to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today after the release of a key report by the UN’s atomic watchdog. “The significance of the report is that the international community must bring about the cessation of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons which endangers the peace of the world and of the Middle East,” he said in a statement issued by his office. It was the first official Israeli response to yesterday’s report by the International Atomic Energy Agency which said it had “serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear programme. “The IAEA report corroborates the position of the international community, and of Israel that Iran is developing nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. [caption id=“attachment_128025” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Israel, which has the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has long accused Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear programme. Reuters.”]  [/caption] Israel, which has the Middle East’s sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, has long accused Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear programme. Tehran denies that charge and has accused Israel of trying to sabotage its civilian nuclear programme and kill its nuclear scientists. AFP