He added that he thought such an attack is unlikely and
that the Russian-built facility represents a major step forward for Iran's
nuclear weapons aspirations.
Bolton told the Fox Business Network on Monday that if
Israel wants to prevent Iran from acquiring a working nuclear plant, a military
strike must be launched against the Bushehr nuclear power facility within the
next week.
Sergei Novikov, spokesman for Russia’s state nuclear
corporation, Rosatom, said last week that the Bushehr plant would be loaded
with nuclear fuel on Aug. 21.
Bolton warned that after that date it will be too late
for Israel to launch a military strike against the facility because any attack
would spread radiation and affect Iranian civilians.
In the interview, Bolton also said that the completion of
the reactor was a "significant victory for Iran."
"They will be beginning the process of bringing
online a 1000 megawatt reactor. When it becomes fully operational the spent
fuel coming out of the reactor will be plutonium which could be reprocessed
chemically and used for nuclear weapons," Bolton said.
He added that Iran was "on the verge of achieving
something that Saddam Hussein was not able to achieve, Bashar Al-Assad in Syria
was not able to achieve and that's getting a second route to nuclear
weapons."
"Once the fuel rods are inserted into the reactor
any attack on the reactor would almost certainly release radiation into the
atmosphere, given where Bushehr is located right on the Arabian Gulf possibly
into the water as well," Bolton said.
"So if Israel is going to do anything against
Bushehr it has to move in the next eight days."
The controversial former envoy to the United Nations
criticized Russia's role in the development of the plant, saying: "The
Russians are, as they often do, playing both sides against the middle."
Iran warned Tuesday that an attack on the plant would
amount to an "international crime." "Attacking an international
plant is an international crime as the consequences will not be limited to the
hosting country but will have a global aftermath," Iran's nuclear chief
Ali Akbar Salehi told the state IRNA news agency.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed a possible
Israeli attack on the Bushehr plant. "These threats have become repetitive
and lost their meaning," Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters.
— With input from agencies
