NEW YORK (Press Release)–The Obama administration now believes that Iran is secretly running a nuclear weapons program, according to a ‘New York Times’ report, and Washington wants to press the UN Security Council to impose new sanctions on Tehran.
The White House wants to focus the new sanctions on the Revolutionary Guard, which is believed to run the nuclear weapons effort. The radical paramilitary force also played a crucial role in the repression of antigovernment demonstrators since the disputed presidential election in June 2009.
An unnamed US administration official told the paper that the hope was the current troubles in Iran presented an opportunity “that may make the Iranians think the nuclear program isn’t worth the price tag.”
Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon told the newspaper ‘Haaretz’: “The world is uniting against Iran’s nuclear program, and within a month we will see UN Security Council sanctions. There is agreement in Washington, Moscow and Beijing that a nuclear Iran would destroy the current world order.”
*
Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Meanwhile, Iran is expected to hold a “large-scale military exercise” next month, the state-funded Iranian news agency ‘Press TV’ reports, citing a top military official in Tehran. Foreign Minister Manounchehr Mottaki issued an ultimatum to the West: either the recent IAEA proposal on the enrichment of nuclear fuel was renegotiated or Tehran would continue enrichment activities in Iran. Mottaki said the West had until the end of January to accept the counter-proposal by Iran, although he did not give details on Iran’s offer.