Published on Nov 8, 2013
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu strongly criticises and rejects Iran’s historic breakthrough deal in Geneva over its nuclear plans. He says the rival state got the ‘deal of the century’, but it is a ‘very bad deal’ for the international community. Netanyahu’s criticism of the negotiations with Iran in Geneva comes ahead of the Israeli PM’s meeting with the US secretary of state on Friday, representing the third meeting with John Kerry in barely 48 hours
While Geneva talks make progress towards agreement, Iranian state television broadcast simulated missile attack on Israel
An agreement between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program seems imminent, but the charm offensive in Geneva is not mirrored at home. In Tehran, the Iranian government sent a different message with a broadcast on state television of a simulated missile attack on Israel. The hour-long documentary program included segments about the capabilities of Iranian missiles and the possibility of their use in response to foreign threats. The program included a video simulation of a potential response by Iran to an Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities. Read more
Earlier this week the BBC reported that Saudi Arabia has invested money in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons projects and stands to acquire atomic weapons any time it wishes. According to a number of sources, the Saudi Kingdom would be able to deploy nuclear weapons more rapidly than Iran. The BBC quotes Amos Yadlin, a former Israeli military intelligence boss, as stating during a conference in Sweden that if Iran manages to build an atomic bomb “the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring.” “I do think that the Saudis believe that they have some understanding with Pakistan that, in extremis, they would have claim to acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan,” said Obama’s former counter-proliferation adviser, Gary Samore. Although the prospect of Saudi Arabia acquiring nuclear weapons is nothing new, it is adds a new dimension to the talks between the United States and Iran on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program which is legal under the terms of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Saudi Arabia is a party to the treaty and is a member of the coalition of countries demanding a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East. Israel is has not signed on to the NPT and maintains “studied ambiguity” about its nuclear arsenal. In November, 2012, Israel and the United States cancelled high-level talks with Muslim nations in the Middle East on establishing a nuclear free zone in the region.
