"Even in a time of dialogue, the international community must ready harsh and more active sanctions so that Iran will understand what is on the agenda. It is not only Iran that is testing international determination but also other countries in the Middle East that are being threatened by Iran." So says Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, in an interview reported on Haaretz.com (July 30th.) Shovelled into this fire-stoking is the notion that Iran threatens other countries in the Middle East, when no such threat has ever been represented. Possibly if the Iran Yarn can be peddled sufficiently, it will be made to take the emphasis from US demands for Israel to cease settlement-building and get down to serious talks; no sanctions, of course, are threatened against Israel for either keeping a nuclear arsenal or continuing to defy the United States on the settlement issue.
"Even in a time of dialogue, the international community must ready harsh and more active sanctions so that Iran will understand what is on the agenda. It is not only Iran that is testing international determination but also other countries in the Middle East that are being threatened by Iran." So says Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, in an interview reported on Haaretz.com (July 30th.) Shovelled into this fire-stoking is the notion that Iran threatens other countries in the Middle East, when no such threat has ever been represented. Possibly if the Iran Yarn can be peddled sufficiently, it will be made to take the emphasis from US demands for Israel to cease settlement-building and get down to serious talks; no sanctions, of course, are threatened against Israel for either keeping a nuclear arsenal or continuing to defy the United States on the settlement issue. It must be said in balance that there are Israeli Ministers who have approached the notion that continued settlement building is a burden on any possible peace agreement and, more worrying still, is a weight on the shoulders of US-Israel relations. Israel will be used as a proxy should the US ever decide, suicidally, to attack Iran. Israel is aware of this, and wants Iran’s nuclear potential (they have no nuclear weapons) somewhat neutered before anything like that can happen. We have a role to play here in keeping the main issue – the Israel/Palestine issue – to the forefront and not playing into too much foggy debate about the ‘threat’ of Iran. That the Irish Government did not haul the Israeli Ambassador in for a stiff dressing-down when Irish citizens were kidnapped at sea by Israeli forces, an act of international terrorism and recognised as such, stands to our eternal shame. (Interestingly, Israel were the first nation in the world ever to hijack a civilian aircraft.) Let’s keep an eye on the ball, here.
