Olmert hints at Israeli action against Iran
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Associated Press
Updated Fri. Oct. 20 2006 7:22 AM ET
JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Iran would have "a price to pay" if it doesn't back down from its nuclear ambitions, hinting broadly that Israel might be forced to take action -- his strongest words yet about the Iranian threat.
In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday called Israel's leaders a "group of terrorists" and threatened any country that supports the Jewish state.
"You imposed a group of terrorists ... on the region," Ahmadinejad said, addressing the U.S. and its allies. "It is in your own interest to distance yourself from these criminals ... This is an ultimatum. Don't complain tomorrow."
"Nations will take revenge," he told a crowd of thousands gathered at a pro-Palestinian rally in the capital, Tehran.
Ahmadinejad, who has a history of similarly fiery rhetoric, said Israel no longer had any reason to exist and would soon disappear.
"This regime, thanks to God, has lost the reason for its existence," he said.
"Efforts to stabilize this fake (Israeli) regime, by the grace of God, have completely failed ... You should believe that this regime is disappearing," he said.
Talking to reporters Thursday on his way home from a three-day trip to Moscow, Olmert didn't specifically threaten to cripple Iran's nuclear program in a military strike, as Israel did 25 years ago in Iraq when it sent combat planes to destroy an unfinished nuclear reactor. But he repeated what he said a day earlier after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow -- the Iranians "have to be afraid" of the consequences of their intransigence.
"They have to understand that if they object to every compromise, there will be a price to pay," Olmert said.
Israel rejects Tehran's claim that its nuclear program is peaceful, designed solely to produce energy. In the past, Israel has said it would not lead a campaign against Iran's nuclear program, rather act in concert with world powers that are similarly worried about Iran's intentions.
But with Iran rejecting various compromise proposals and insisting on enriching uranium -- a process key to developing nuclear weapons -- Olmert has been raising the stakes with increasingly defiant rhetoric.
Israel cannot reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran, he said -- and "there comes a time when you have to do damage control."
"A red line must be drawn that cannot be crossed," he said, without specifying what that line was.
"Time isn't standing still," he added, "and perhaps there will be a need to do something in the future."
Though some Israeli officials have made specific threats to hit Iran, military experts have questioned Israel's ability to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities, which, unlike Iraq's in 1981, are scattered among installations, with some of them hidden underground. But they have said Israel could set the program back years by striking several of the sites.
Israel considers Iran to be the greatest threat to its survival. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for the Jewish state's destruction, and Iran already has missiles capable of carrying payloads to Israel.
Russia is building Iran's first nuclear reactor and has impeded U.N. sanctions against Tehran. It has also agreed to resume shipment of fuel for the reactor, which experts say could be diverted and used to build bombs.
Ahmadinejad on Friday called the U.N. Security Council and its decisions "illegitimate."
"What sort of Security Council is this? The whole world knows that the U.S. and Britain are enemies of the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said.
The United States and Britian -- along with France, Russia and China -- have power to veto any Security Council measures.
"You want to be the judge, the complainant and the enforcer. But the time for such logic has passed. No one accepts this from you," Ahmadinejad said, addressing the U.S. and Britain.
After meeting for four hours with Putin and Russian defense officials, Olmert said he was convinced they understood the gravity of the situation and don't want to see a nuclear Iran. But at a news conference with Olmert at the Kremlin on Wednesday, Putin pointedly made no mention of the Iranian nuclear standoff.
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