Israeli chief says pressure against Iran can work
Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Photographer: US Defense Department Photo
Gabi Ashkenazi, Israeli army chief of staff
12:40GMT—7:40AM/EST
Washington, 10 November (WashingtonTV)—Israeli army chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, said on Tuesday that international pressure on Iran over its nuclear program can bring about change within the country.
Speaking before the Knesset [parliament] Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ashkenazi said that Iran was a “radical” country, but not “irrational”.
“Alterations in policy towards Iran by the international community, as well as efficient pressure, could bring change within Iran,” the army chief said, according to the YNet news website.
He told lawmakers that there was a “battle” in the Middle East between “the radicals and the moderates”, and that this was “pushing Iran to radical acts [and] to fund terror,” reports the Jerusalem Post.
If world powers present a united front in confronting Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear arms, it would not be “illogical” that Tehran changes direction, he added.
Iran strongly rejects Western accusations that it is using the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program to develop nuclear arms.
Israel and the United States have not ruled out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if diplomatic measures fail to curb its nuclear drive.
Sources: YNet news website, Jerusalem Post
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