NewsMax.com
Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001

In Sunday's New York Post, Uri Dan, an Israeli insider considered a member of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's kitchen cabinet, reported that Sharon raised his nation's concerns with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the aid Russian companies are providing to Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Putin tried to reassure Sharon in their three-hour talk that he wouldn't put Israel in danger, Dan reported.

"We are not crazy," Putin told Sharon.

"We will not allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons, because it might endanger neighboring countries, and that would be an insane move by us."

But Sharon's aides insist that the evidence of Russian assistance to Iran's nuclear missile program is undeniable, evoking memories of a similar situation 20 years ago when France denied it was helping Iraq's Saddam Hussein build an atomic bomb.

According to Dan, intelligence reports indicate that Iran, which already has the ability to build long-range missiles, could have nuclear warheads in three to five years and threaten the entire Mideast.

When Israel faced a similar threat 20 years ago, Dan recalled, it reacted. After French officials denied reports that they were supplying Iraq with the material needed to build a nuclear bomb, Israel destroyed Saddam Hussein's reactor in Baghdad in a daring air raid in June 1981.

Dan noted that the decision to attack and destroy Iraq's Osirak nuclear center was made by then Prime Minister Menachem Begin and, significantly, by "the toughest member of his defense cabinet - Sharon."

In our Sept. 5 NewsMax report we revealed that Israel's defense minister made Iran's nuclear program a top priority during a meeting at the Pentagon – hinting strongly that Israel was prepared to strike against Iranian weapons' facilities.

NewsMax also reported that Israel may make such a strike at the same time it hits Iranian targets in Lebanon. Dan reported that Iran has actually put members of its Revolutionary Guard in control of missile units that have a long range and can hit Tel Aviv, and that Iran and Syria are coordinating military moves to "open a second front" against Israel if the Palestinian crisis blows.

Recent history has shown that Israel does not sit idly by in the face of such imminent threats. An air strike against the Iranian missile site can thus be expected at any time. As we reported then, when Israel strikes against these missiles, expect a broader sweep, which may include air strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
Russia
Israel
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