In a rare public speech, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency said that Iran was continuing its attempt to develop nuclear and other non-conventional weapons, but was also sending occasional hints that it could someday reconcile with Israel. Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy offered his assessment at a public conference on security in Tel Aviv.
There are Iranians in high-standing positions of influence that are saying that if there is an Israeli-Palestinian agreement ... Iran will not stand in the way of that agreement, Halevy said. There are even covert messages of the possibility of reconciliation Emanating from Iran.
These are lone chords at the moment, and they are in no way joining to form a melody, Halevy added, without providing additional details. However, he also stressed that Iran was attempting to develop nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, as well as expanding its long-range missile program.
Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies for years, with Iran providing support for the militant Islamic group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah fought for years against Israeli troops in south Lebanon.
Israel pulled its forces out of Lebanon last year, but Hezbollah still wages sporadic attacks over a disputed patch of territory along the border.
Meanwhile, Halevy described the us-led campaign against international terrorism as an unprecedented development because of its focus on an organization - Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network - rather than a sovereign state.
Bureau Report