Israel "Will Act on Iran if UN Can't"

Reuters:

IF the United Nations Security Council is incapable of stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself, Israel's defence minister said today. Shaul Mofaz was asked whether Israel was ready to use military action if the Security Council proved unable to act against what Israel and the West believe is a covert Iranian nuclear weapons program. READ MORE

"My answer to this question is that the state of Israel has the right give all the security that is needed to the people in Israel. We have to defend ourselves," Mr Mofaz said after a meeting with his German counterpart Franz Josef Jung.

Iran denies wanting nuclear weapons and says it is interested only in the peaceful generation of electricity. It has also threatened to retaliate if Israel or the United States were to bomb any of its nuclear facilities.

In 1981, Israel bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor to prevent Saddam Hussein from getting nuclear weapons. Saddam's covert atom bomb program continued until UN inspectors dismantled it after the 1991 Gulf War, but the Israeli strike set progress back many years.

"The Israeli approach is that the US and the European countries should lead the issue of the Iranian nuclear program to the table of the UN Security Council, asking for sanctions."

"And I hope the sanctions will be effective," Mr Mofaz said.