Iran dismisses ‘attack by Israel’

Story from BBC NEWS:
middle_east/7467164.stm

Published: 2008/06/21 13:34:03 GMT

Iran has said it considers a military attack on its nuclear facilities
by Israel as "impossible".

"Such audacity to embark on an assault against the interests and
territorial integrity of our country is impossible, said spokesman
Gholam Hoseyn Elham.

The statement follows reports in the US media that Israeli aerial
manoeuvres over the eastern Mediterranean were a possible test-run for
a strike on Iran.

Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

It has repeatedly rejected demands to halt enriching uranium, which can
be used as fuel for power plants or material for weapons if refined to
a greater degree.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Mohammed ElBaradei, meanwhile
said an attack would put Iran on a "crash course" to building nuclear
weapons and would turn the region "into a fireball".

He said he did not believe there was any "imminent risk" of
proliferation by Iran given the current status of its nuclear
programme.

In an interview with Al Arabiya television, Mr ElBaradei said that if
any military action was taken against Iran he would find it impossible
to continue as the head of the IAEA.

Israeli ‘rehearsal’

Iran’s defiant message follows a report in the New York Times on
Friday.

The newspaper cited US Pentagon officials as saying that the Israeli
exercise – involving more than 100 Israeli fighter jets – was intended
to demonstrate the seriousness of Israel’s concern over Iran’s nuclear
activities, and its willingness to act unilaterally.

It said helicopters and refuelling tankers flew more than 1,400km (870
miles), roughly the distance between Israel and Iran’s main uranium
enrichment plant at Natanz.

The New York Times reported that Israeli officials declined to discuss
the details of the exercise. The US state department would not comment
on the Israeli exercise.

Offer on table

Iran is said to be considering an offer from six world powers of
preliminary talks, which would be used to agree a framework for formal
negotiations and incentives.

No doubt it was the most important mission of my career
Col Zeev Raz
Mission commander for Israel’s attack on Iraq’s nuclear reactor

The talks are on the condition that Iran freeze its current levels of
enrichment for six weeks in exchange for the powers putting a halt on
their push for new sanctions.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana put forward the proposal – made
by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
the US, China, Russia, France, Britain plus Germany – during talks in
Tehran last week.

He said the six powers were ready to fully recognise Iran’s right to
have a civilian nuclear energy programme.