The United States is expecting Iran to answer the serious questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report in the coming days, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a press briefing on Friday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings held in Honolulu, Hawaii, Xinhua reports.
Talking about her bilateral meetings with officials from the Asia-Pacific region on the sidelines of the week-long APEC meetings, Clinton said they discussed the recent report "raising serious concerns about the weapon-related work the Iranian government has undertaken."
"The United States will continue to consult closely with partners and allies on the next steps we can take to increase pressure on Iran," Clinton told the briefing.
On Tuesday, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano circulated an updated report on Iran for consideration at the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors. A copy has also been submitted to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Ban on Thursday expressed deep concern over the possible military-dimensioned nuclear program in Iran, and called for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with Iran, rather than a military one.
In his turn, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said that the relevant IAEA documents are "unfounded and baseless."
On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the latest IAEA report is a "politicized compilation of well-known facts."
According to British newspapers, Israel may launch an aerial strike on Iranian nuclear facilities right before the Christmas. The attack is meant to hinder Iran’s nuclear program. The offensive will be supported by the US, the shocking claims continue, Natopnal Turk reports. British government sources are quoted as saying that the British cabinet expects Israel to attack Iran "sooner rather than later." The Israeli president said on November 4 that Israel is not more inclined towards a military resolution of its conflict with Iran, rather than towards a diplomatic one.
According to Russian expert Vladimir Yevseyev, new sanctions against Iran have no solid reason, as the report didn’t provide any new verified data. The expert also doubts the possibility of a military actions by Israel against Iran: “Of course, Israel is prepared for an armed conflict, but to deliver an efficient nuclear air strike it would need to re-arm its air fleet, and this would take approximately 2 years. And some military targets in Iran, like the Fardu complex, are impossible to destroy without a nuclear strike. Besides, Iran is doubling all its most important strategic facilities. So right now Israel doesn’t have the potential for an efficient military campaign.”
The expert stressed that Iran currently doesn’t pose any military threat whatsoever, so there’s also no need for such a strike. So the claims of Israel are mostly aimed at strengthening the position of the current government within the country and to make the UN extend sanctions against Iran.
