FM Shalom Warns Nuclear Armed Iran Would Be 'Nightmare'

Ha'aretz:

Israel said on Friday that Iran was very close to being able to make a nuclear bomb and urged the United States and Europe to pressure Tehran to abandon a suspected nuclear arms program. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Reuters an Iranian nuclear bomb would be a "nightmare" for Israel and other countries.

"In our view, they are very close, they are too close, to having the knowledge to develop this kind of bomb and that's why we should be in a hurry," Shalom said in an interview on a visit to Mexico. ... read more

Shalom would not put a date on when Israel thought Iran could have nuclear arms, which he said would be a threat beyond the Middle East because Tehran is developing new long-range missiles.

"The idea that this tyranny of Iran will hold a nuclear bomb is a nightmare not only for us but for the whole world," he said. ...

"We believe that diplomacy is the only way to deal with this issue," he told a meeting of academics and journalists.

"I am very satisfied with the European and American determination in asking the Iranians to comply with the understanding they achieved with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European countries," Shalom said. ...