Jerusalem: Israel has discarded claims
that it is "bluffing" in issuing threats that it will carry
out military strikes against Iran to foil the Islamic
Republic's nuclear ambitions.
"The one who's bluffing is Iran, which is trying to
play with cards they don't have," Israel's deputy Foreign
Minister Danny Ayalon told the Sky News.
"All the bravado that we see and the testing and the
very dangerous and harsh rhetoric is hiding a lot of
weaknesses," Ayalon asserted speaking to the British TV
station.
The Israeli minister called Iran's tactics in dealing
with international powers "a method of stalling". "If Iranian
behaviour and conduct continues as they have exhibited so far,
it is obvious that their intentions are only to buy time and
procrastinate," he said.
Ayalon's remarks came a week after the international
community proposed a draft nuclear deal that would have seen
much of Iran's uranium shipped abroad for enrichment.
Iran has demanded changes to the draft, but has not
yet given its final response.
Meanwhile, local media today quoted The Guardian as
reporting that the United Nations nuclear watchdog has asked
Iran to explain evidence suggesting that its scientists have
experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design.
The newspaper, citing what it describes as "previously
unpublished documentation" from an International Atomic Energy
Agency compiled dossier, said Iranian scientists may have
tested high-explosive components of a "two-point implosion"
device.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, November 06, 2009, 19:04