UNITED NATIONS/RAMALLAH: Israeli President Shimon Peres yesterday blasted Iran, accusing the Islamic Republic of being “at the center of violence and fanaticism,” during an address to the UN General Assembly.
“At the center of this violence and fanaticism stands Iran,” he told the 192-member assembly. “It built a danger to the entire world. Its quest for religious hegemony and regional dominance divides the Middle East and holds back chances for peace, while undermining human rights.”
Warning that Tehran “continues to develop enriched uranium and long range missiles,” Peres said the UN “General Assembly and the Security Council bear responsibility to prevent agonies before they take place.” The Security Council has slapped three rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, a process which can be used to make the fissile material for a nuclear bomb.
But Russia and China appear to be reluctant to impose a fourth round of sanctions. “Tehran combines long-range missiles and short-range minds. It is pregnant with tragedies,” Peres said. “Their despicable denial of the Holocaust is a mockery of indisputable evidence, a cynical offense to survivors of the horror.”
In his own address to the Assembly on Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel and its chief ally the United States, saying “the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters.”
Ahmadinejad, who has said in the past that Israel should be wiped off the map, railed against “murderous Zionists” who he said were manipulating Europe and America. “Today, the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters,” he said.
Israeli foreign minister and ruling Kadima party chief, Tzipi Livni, yesterday criticized the United Nations granting Ahmadinejad a platform to deliver anti-Israel speech. Livni said that “Ahmadinejad’s speech makes the situation absurd for an organization that raised the banner of ‘Never Again’ upon its establishment.”
Livni called Tehran’s bid to become a member of the Security Council “absurd”, saying “a country that threatens the security of its neighbors and calls for the destruction of another country wants to be a member of an organization whose goal is to contribute to global security.”
“Iran is currently subjected to the Security Council’s sanctions because it produces nuclear weapons and supplies arms to terror groups,” the foreign minister added.
Livni said that “responsible countries cannot support Iran’s membership in an organization that is tasked with implementing the sanctions. What is required now is continued pressure on Iran to make it clear that ignoring the international community’s demands comes with a price. (Tehran) cannot be permitted to join a body that is supposed to lead this initiative.”
Opposition chief Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iranian leader’s statements heighten the urge for Western action against Tehran’s nuclear activities. “I can understand the frustration of Israel’s ambassador to the UN,” Netanyahu told Israeli Army Radio yesterday.
— With input from Mohammed Mar’i
