Dec 05, 2011 02:50 pm
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Category: Nuclear Security/Nonproliferation

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Saturday that Iran is getting closer to developing a nuclear bomb, and that new and more crippling sanctions should be imposed on the Islamic Republic. Speaking on "Meet the Press," a Channel 2 program, Barak denied however that the latest blasts that occurred in Iran mark the beginning of a military campaign. Barak said actions against Iran are being carried out in the diplomatic sphere, through sanctions and through the activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). When asked if a clandestine war against Iran has already begun, he replied: "I think the answer to that is no." "Iran is getting close to the bomb, and the sanctions should be quick, focused and stronger," Barak said. "We can't wait and say – we'll see if they have a bomb, and then we'll act. What if by then we will not be able to act?" In response to U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta' speech yesterday, in which he urged Israel not to act alone against Iran, Barak said Panetta's full message is more complex than that. "We are in constant dialogue with the Americans," he said, "I've met Panetta about a dozen times over the last two or three years. In person we hold more intensive talks." Read the Full Article