Barak slams Russian ties to Iran
Defense minister meets with EU ambassadors over Tehran nuclear threat, warns that 'so long as Russia, China and India do not join the nations imposing sanctions on Iran, it will have allies to do business with'
"The Iranians are determined to develop nuclear power, and we believe it is delusional to think otherwise. Iran's plan jeopardizes both regional stability and that of the entire world," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday evening in a meeting with European Union ambassadors.
Barak lashed out against Russia, India and China for continuing to do business with Tehran at a time when most of the West is seeking to further tighten the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.
"So long as Russia, China and India do not join the nations imposing sanctions on Iran, it will have allies to do business with," said Barak. The defense minister briefed the EU envoys on a number of state and defense issues relevant to the Middle East, as well as Israel's continued efforts to rally world opinion against Iran's nuclear program.
He stressed that so long as influential nations fail to impose sanctions against Tehran, the latter will have little incentive to suspend its program.
Barak reiterated that Israel believes in the use of diplomacy and sanctions to stop Iran from obtaining a
nuclear weapon, but also said that "we must not take any options off the table.
The UN nuclear chief said on Monday that Iran was blocking his watchdog agency from investigating the nature of its nuclear ambitions.
"I regret that we are still not in a position to achieve full clarity regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran," said Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
