In his address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday evening (Israel time), Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told American lawmakers that Israel could not allow Iran to complete its nuclear development program.
“For us, this is an existential threat, a threat to which we cannot consent,” Olmert said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, U.S. President George W. Bush told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that America will defend Israel in the case of a nuclear attack from Iran. “Israel is a close friend and ally of the United States, and in the event of any attack on Israel, the United States will come to Israel’s aid,” he said at a joint news conference after their talks.
Olmert told U.S. officials that Iran will have the ability to build a nuclear weapon within a year, according to Israeli intelligence reports. “If we don’t take Iran’s bellicose rhetoric seriously now,” he told the Congress, “we will be forced to take its nuclear aggression seriously later”.
Bush pledged to prevent Iran from succeeding in its bid to acquire the nuclear technology needed to build a weapon. American media reported Wednesday that Iran sent emissaries to tell Washington it is willing to come to the table with the U.S. to discuss the matter in direct talks.
The United Nations has not as yet approved sanctions to force Iran to end its nuclear program. Russia and China have opposed U.S. efforts to convince the international body to set tough sanctions against Iran to end its uranium enrichment program.
In his speech, Olmert addressed the U.N.’s lackluster response to the nuclear threat from Iran, and said discussions by the world body are not enough. “The international community will be measured not by its intentions but by its results,” he said pointedly. He warned that Iran’s nuclear program presents a global threat, not one simply aimed at Israel.
“It is not Israel’s threat alone,” he told lawmakers. “It is a threat to all those committed to stability in the Middle East and the well-being of the world at large.”
The U.S. has said it will ask the U.N. Security Council to impose military and economic sanctions if Iran refuses to end the program. The European Union, meanwhile, has suggested a compromise resolution against Iran. Officials from Britain, France and German plan to discuss an EU draft of the resolution with U.S. Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.
“For us, this is an existential threat, a threat to which we cannot consent,” Olmert said.
During their meeting on Tuesday, U.S. President George W. Bush told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that America will defend Israel in the case of a nuclear attack from Iran. “Israel is a close friend and ally of the United States, and in the event of any attack on Israel, the United States will come to Israel’s aid,” he said at a joint news conference after their talks.
Olmert told U.S. officials that Iran will have the ability to build a nuclear weapon within a year, according to Israeli intelligence reports. “If we don’t take Iran’s bellicose rhetoric seriously now,” he told the Congress, “we will be forced to take its nuclear aggression seriously later”.
Bush pledged to prevent Iran from succeeding in its bid to acquire the nuclear technology needed to build a weapon. American media reported Wednesday that Iran sent emissaries to tell Washington it is willing to come to the table with the U.S. to discuss the matter in direct talks.
The United Nations has not as yet approved sanctions to force Iran to end its nuclear program. Russia and China have opposed U.S. efforts to convince the international body to set tough sanctions against Iran to end its uranium enrichment program.
In his speech, Olmert addressed the U.N.’s lackluster response to the nuclear threat from Iran, and said discussions by the world body are not enough. “The international community will be measured not by its intentions but by its results,” he said pointedly. He warned that Iran’s nuclear program presents a global threat, not one simply aimed at Israel.
“It is not Israel’s threat alone,” he told lawmakers. “It is a threat to all those committed to stability in the Middle East and the well-being of the world at large.”
The U.S. has said it will ask the U.N. Security Council to impose military and economic sanctions if Iran refuses to end the program. The European Union, meanwhile, has suggested a compromise resolution against Iran. Officials from Britain, France and German plan to discuss an EU draft of the resolution with U.S. Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.