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Sejil 2 missile test
Photo: AFP

Officials: Europe aware of need to press Iran

Jerusalem says more EU countries backing harsher sanctions on Iran should dialogue with US fail. Foreign Ministry: We expect our friends in Europe to unite in order to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear military capabilities. This is our generation's mission

Israeli government officials told Ynet Thursday that more and more European countries are publicly expressing the need to impose harsh sanctions against Iran should Tehran's dialogue with the United States fail to bear fruit.

 

The officials said that reports relayed to Jerusalem in recent days have indicated that the both the US and the European Union has set a vague end date for the dialogue with Iran- sometime by the end of 2009.

 

However, as opposed to the US, until now Europe has refrained from declaring the need for new sanctions on the Islamic Republic after diplomatic efforts to curb its nuclear program have been exhausted.

 

Officials in Jerusalem have welcomed the apparent change in Europe's position, saying it was indicative of "new winds blowing in the EU." According to them, this change is also evident in Germany, Sweden and Spain, countries that in the past doubted the effectiveness of imposing any sanctions on Iran.

 

Yossi Levy, the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson for Israeli media, refused to address the reports directly, but did say that Israel "expects the international community, and particularly our friends in Europe, to unite in order to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear military capabilities. This is our generation's mission."

 

During his recent meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, US President Barack Obama said he saw no reason to set an artificial deadline for diplomacy with Iran, but that his administration would like to see progress with Tehran by the end of the year.

 

Obama said he expects a positive response from his diplomatic outreach to Iran on stopping its nuclear program by the end of the year. He said the United States wanted to bring Iran into the world community but declared "we're not going to have talks forever."

 

The president said he was not closing off a "range of steps" against Iran, including sanctions, if it continues its nuclear program.

 

On Wednesday Iran successfully launched an advanced surface-to-surface missile with a range of around 2,000 km (1,200 miles), President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

 

"The Sejil 2 missile, which has an advanced technology, was launched today ... and it landed exactly on the target," Ahmadinejad said during a visit to the northern Semnan province, where IRNA said the launch took place.

 

A range of 2,000 km would be almost as far as another Iranian missile, Shahab 3, and would enable it to reach Israel and US bases in the Gulf. 

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.21.09, 18:33
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