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Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
on Sunday called for actions against Iran to stop it from acquiring
nuclear weapons, saying "the time had come."
However, he declined to say directly whether his country
would attack Iran, noted "I don't think that that is
a subject for public discussion."
"But I can tell you that the IAEA report has a sobering
impact on many in the world leaders, as well as the publics,
and people understand that the time had come," he told
the CNN TV network in an interview.
He was referring to the report released on November 8 by
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which outlined
alleged activities pointing to clandestine nuclear bombs making
by Iran, prompting the US and some European nations to mull
expanded sanctions on the Middle East country.
Days before the release of the IAEA report, Israeli media
reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Barak
were seeking cabinet support for a military strike on Iran.
Barak said IAEA head Yukiya Amano "told straightly what
he found," making Iran's nuclear program "a major
issue for sanctions, for intensive diplomacy, with urgency."
"People understand now that Iran is determined to reach
nuclear weapons. No other possible or conceivable explanation
for what they have been actually doing. And that should be
stopped," he said.
Barak alleged that a nuclear Iran would turn the whole region
nuclear, including regional powers like Saudi Arabia, Turkey
and Egypt, as well as triggering the risk of letting nuclear
materials fall in the hands of terrorists.
"Let me tell you, we recommend for a long time to all
players to act sincerely and intensively to ...deprive them
or prevent them from turning nuclear," he said. "And
we have kept recommending to all to leave no option, not to
remove any option from the table."
"We mean it. We take it upon ourselves. We expect it
from others the same way," he added
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