Peres meets Amano, urges stricter control of Iran
President hosts director of UN nuclear watchdog, praises his achievements. 'One cannot separate a country's nuclear program from the nature of its regime,' he says
President Shimon Peres on Wednesday met with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano, who is currently visiting Israel. According to a statement issued by the President's Residence, the two discussed political developments in the Middle East and stricter control of Iran's nuclear control in their meeting.
The two made short statements at the end of the meeting. Peres complimented his guest and said: "We have detected professionalism, objectivity and fairness since you stepped in as the agency's
director. Your role requires a person who is trusted by all sides, who can distinguish right from wrong and detect elements trying to deceive the international community."
In the backdrop of the Bushehr nuclear reactor's activation Peres said, "Israel and the world are faced with threats by a country which does not hesitate threatening to use nuclear weapons."
Peres and Amano in Jerusalem (Photo: Mark Neiman, GPO)
The president added that one cannot separate a country's nuclear program from the nature of its regime. "There is no precedence for (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad's statements which call for the annihilation of Israel and that deny the Holocaust in the diplomatic sphere. The international community and the IAEA must take them very seriously," he said.
'Israel not like other countries'
In a possible reference to the Arab League's push for international control on Israel's nuclear facilities Peres noted that "one must bear in mind that the State of Israel has been attacked seven times during the course of 62 years. In this respect, it is not like any other country. The world cannot ignore the ongoing threat Israel is under."
According to the President's Residence's statement, Amano surveyed IAEA policy and goals during his meeting with Peres.
On Wednesday, Amano concluded his visit in Israel and expressed satisfaction at Israel's nuclear conduct. He noted that he visited the nuclear center in Nahal Sorek and was impressed by the Hadassah Hospital's nuclear medicine department's abilities, which he said were a good example of the employment of nuclear technology for peaceful goals.
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