Post by Paddy by Grace on Sept 24, 2009 8:29:43 GMT -7
www.worthynews.com/top/google-com-hostednews-afp-article-ALeqM5gzq1SIDw7syih4PusKLNl8qZVN5Q/
WASHINGTON — Iran's regime is "weaker than people think" and now is the time for world leaders to press it hard on its suspect nuclear activities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"I'd like to believe that the international community understands that Iran has to be pressed strongly, there are ways of pressing this regime right now because it's weak," Netanyahu told CNN.
"It's weaker than people think. It doesn't enjoy the support of its own people," he said, adding that the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons "threatens world peace in a way that very few events could possibly threaten it."
Widely considered to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, Israel, like the West, suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of its nuclear program, a charge Tehran denies.
Israel considers the Islamic republic its top enemy after repeated statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that it is doomed to be "wiped off the map" and that the Holocaust was a "myth."
Netanyahu insisted that time was running out for the international community to act, saying the window was "getting shorter because Iran is moving ahead.
"But this is a regime that is susceptible to pressure," he said.
"It's been exposed for what it is. It tyrannizes its own people. Iranians detest these people as seen in the election fraud. The economy is susceptible and the time for pressure is now," he said.
A meeting between Iran and the six powers dealing with Tehran's suspect nuclear program is planned for next month in Geneva.
This will be the first such high-level meeting between Iran and the six -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- since US President Barack Obama moved into the White House early this year.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said his country hoped to build confidence during talks with world powers on its proposals aimed at allaying concerns over its nuclear program.
"We have to reach a comprehensive confidence in order to examine the main questions and start negotiations," Mottaki told a group of Iranian reporters in New York, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Ahmadinejad was meanwhile to address the UN General Assembly Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — Iran's regime is "weaker than people think" and now is the time for world leaders to press it hard on its suspect nuclear activities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"I'd like to believe that the international community understands that Iran has to be pressed strongly, there are ways of pressing this regime right now because it's weak," Netanyahu told CNN.
"It's weaker than people think. It doesn't enjoy the support of its own people," he said, adding that the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons "threatens world peace in a way that very few events could possibly threaten it."
Widely considered to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, Israel, like the West, suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under the guise of its nuclear program, a charge Tehran denies.
Israel considers the Islamic republic its top enemy after repeated statements by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that it is doomed to be "wiped off the map" and that the Holocaust was a "myth."
Netanyahu insisted that time was running out for the international community to act, saying the window was "getting shorter because Iran is moving ahead.
"But this is a regime that is susceptible to pressure," he said.
"It's been exposed for what it is. It tyrannizes its own people. Iranians detest these people as seen in the election fraud. The economy is susceptible and the time for pressure is now," he said.
A meeting between Iran and the six powers dealing with Tehran's suspect nuclear program is planned for next month in Geneva.
This will be the first such high-level meeting between Iran and the six -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- since US President Barack Obama moved into the White House early this year.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said his country hoped to build confidence during talks with world powers on its proposals aimed at allaying concerns over its nuclear program.
"We have to reach a comprehensive confidence in order to examine the main questions and start negotiations," Mottaki told a group of Iranian reporters in New York, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Ahmadinejad was meanwhile to address the UN General Assembly Wednesday.