________________________________________________________________________
Israel ponders Iranian remarks
Copyright ) 1998 Nando.net
Copyright ) 1998 Reuters
JERUSALEM (January 15, 1998 07:01 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -
Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has set up a team to assess
the threat posed by arch-foe Iran following remarks by its new president
attacking the Jewish state, Ha'aretz newspaper said Thursday.
The group, led by Mordechai's top adviser David Ivri, will convene next
week. Ivri also heads a strategic forum surveying the long-term Iranian
military threat, the newspaper said.
Iran and Israel had close ties until the Islamic revolution in 1979 when
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown.
"Iran under the ayatollahs now poses the most ominous danger to our
region and to the world," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
Wednesday.
Netanyahu pointed to what he said were Iranian efforts to acquire
nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Earlier this month, Iranian President Mohammed Khamati, viewed as a
relative moderate, described the Israeli government as "a racist
terrorist regime" and deplored U.S. support for the Israelis.
According to Ha'aretz the new team would monitor four points: Supply of
equipment to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrilla group in south
Lebanon; support of terrorism against Israel; opposition to the peace
process; and non-recognition of the existence of the state of Israel.
The Defense Ministry would neither confirm nor deny the report.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Apr 13 2001 - 13:00:32 PDT