WORLD / Iran Nuke Issue
Olmert urges Arab moderates to unite against Iran
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-11-15 10:23
LOS ANGELES - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on Tuesday for
moderate Arab countries to unite against Iran and said the world must not
wait any longer to thwart its nuclear ambitions.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledges the crowd before
addressing the United Jewish Communities 2006 General Assembly at the Los
Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California November 14, 2006.
[Reuters]
"We have reached the pivotal moment of truth regarding Iran," Olmert said
in an address to American Jewish groups.
"If Iran achieves the ability to produce nuclear weapons, as we know it
is seeking to do, we will enter a new era of instability unlike any the
world has ever seen," he said. "We cannot afford to wait."
He said Israel "cannot tolerate those who challenge" its right to exist
while actively seeking to develop "catastrophic weapons." But the Israeli
leader stopped short of warning of any military moves against the Islamic
Republic.
Olmert made the comments to the General Assembly of the United Jewish
Communities of North America a day after White House talks with President
George W. Bush in which both men took a tough line against Iran's nuclear
program.
"A coalition of moderate Arab countries can and must unite their common
interest in preventing Iran from undermining stability in the Middle
East," he said, without naming those states.
"This coalition must struggle against the dangers of radical Islam that
manipulate the very source of Islam itself."
Olmert praised Bush for taking the lead in "preventing Iran's
nuclearization" and said he spoke with the president on the issue at
length.
"His determination to prevent this most serious of developments in
unquestionable. But America must have the support of the international
community if we are to successfully defuse this mortal threat," Olmert
said.
Iran, whose president has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, says it
is enriching uranium to generate electricity.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear power, has said
repeatedly it wants to take a back seat to US efforts to prevent Iran
from building nuclear weapons.
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