It will probably take Iran seven years to make a nuclear bomb capacity. This was stated by a prominent Israeli weapon expert, former director-general of the country's Atomic Energy Commission, Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam, in an interview with The Sunday Times.
The sensational statement by General Uzi Eilam contradicts assessments of Israel's defence establishment. Last week, the head of military intelligence, Major-General Amos Yadlin, said Iran would probably be able to build a single nuclear device this year. The Israeli press is covered with reports saying that Teheran is preparing to carry out nuclear tests. The Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to accustom the people of the country and western community to the idea of launching a pre-emptive attack on Iran to prevent it from implementing its nuclear programme.
General Uzi Eilam says all this is empty propaganda. He insists that his opinion is based on personal experience and information from his former colleagues. Consequently, he believes that the case here is not that Iran poses a threat to Israel. Uzi Eilam suggests that the defence establishment is sending out false alarms in order to grab a bigger budget, while the Israeli government is using the Iranian nuclear issue to divert attention away from problems at home. In fact, the West has its own interests and tries to achieve its goals by exerting pressure on Iran. This is the reason why it has been pressing for imposing tougher sanctions against Iran. It must be said that the US has achieved this. Although the question of imposing sanctions on Iran has not been raised at the UN Security Council yet, the Swiss Glencore AG company, which is a leading supplier of petrol to Iran, has stopped fuel supplies fearing problems in case of imposing tough international sanctions on Teheran.
In fact, not only Russia and China oppose the imposition of tough measures until all political methods are not used to settle the issue. For one, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen believes that an aggressive attitude of the U.S. or Israel towards Iran will prompt the Iranian opposition leaders to forget ideological differences and unite with the government on a patriotic basis, and talk in unison against those who launch attacks on the country. Consequently, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will strengthen his position, which is unacceptable for the West, says Professor Irina Zvyagelskaya at the Institute of Oriental Studies in Moscow:
"The Iranian leaders use international pressure as a factor that could be used to unite people around them," says Irina Zvyagelskaya. "They have consistently been insisting that double standards are being used against the country, and the west has been jeopardizing Teheran's peaceful nuclear programme. In short, they are interested in sanctions that will help them to strengthen their position in the country rather than complicate the local situation," Irina Zvyagelskaya said.
At present the international community should do its best to settle the Iranian nuclear issue, and any speculation on reports that cannot be verified can only destabilize the situation. Fortunately, a growing number of experts across the world agrees with this.
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