TEHRAN, 10 July 2004 — A leading Iranian religious leader yesterday criticized the head of the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog for allowing Israel to divert attention away from its presumed nuclear arsenal by focusing talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei ended a three-day visit to Israel on Thursday during which the Jewish state continued to refuse to admit or deny it has nuclear weapons under a policy of “strategic ambiguity”. International experts calculate Israel has 100 to 200 warheads, based on estimates of plutonium produced at its Dimona desert reactor.
During the talks, Israeli officials concentrated not on the presumed arsenal that makes Israel the region’s only nuclear power, but worries that Iran was developing an atom bomb and might one day use it on Israel.
“The Zionists have many warheads, and Mr. El-Baradei goes there and instead of asking them to correct their behavior they sit and discuss Iran,” Ayatollah Mohammed Emami-Kashani said during a Friday prayers sermon in Tehran. “These are diverting attention from Israel to Iran which is only pursuing technological aims,” he said in comments broadcast live on state radio. The United States and Israel accuse Tehran of developing nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian program.
Meanwhile, Iran claimed a victory against “counterrevolutionaries”, after the fear of tough reprisals and deepening political apathy dissuaded pro-democracy activists from marking the anniversary of student unrest five years ago. “Despite an extensive campaign over the past few days in the counterrevolutionary media, it was not a demanding day and night for Tehran’s police,” the force’s commander, Gen. Morteza Talaie, told the official IRNA news agency.
He said that Thursday was “totally normal”, and praised the “wise and alert cooperation between police and students” during what had been a tense moment for the 25-year-old clerical regime. “In the past few years, certain lawless elements have been trying to exploit the students, but this year ... they did not dare to do anything,” Talaie said. “The bitter memories can be forgotten.”
