Israel’s Foreign minister Shimon Peres said Wednesday in the Knesset the "ayatollah regime" is threatening "genocide with missiles" against Israel. He declared Iran provided the Lebanese Resistance party Hizbullah with some 10,000 missiles with ranges of between 20 to 70 kilometers, "enough to ignite a regional conflagration."
According to Haaretz, Peres conveyed Iran is developing the Shihab-3 with a range of 1,300 km, and missiles that can threaten Europe, and in the future, North America. Iran is also trying to develop nonconventional weapons as payloads for those missiles.
The Tel Aviv-based daily reported that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign Minister Peres and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer met Wednesday with top defense officials to discuss Israel's policy regarding Iranian threats, and to prepare the joint message the three top political leaders in Israel will be taking to Washington over the coming days.
Khatami
The Islamic Republic of Iran does not recognize the racist Israeli regime. It supports the anti-Zionist freedom-seeking struggles in the occupied Palestinian lands. This notion was expressed clearly by the Iranian President, who spoke on Tuesday with regards to various matters, particularly the Palestinian issue.
Iranian President Mohammad Khatami in Tehran on Tuesday established an Islamic Media Forum for the support of the popular Palestinian uprising. He called upon countries from all over the world to boycott the racist Israeli regime and asked the United Nations to set up a criminal court to try the Zionist war criminals, according to IRNA.
Furthermore, the President appealed to the U.N, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to adopt necessary means to put a halt to “the hard conditions of the Palestinian people” as well as the “ongoing tragic and atrocious situation” in the occupied territories.
“A resolute condemnation of the Zionist regime's inhuman acts by the international community and support for the establishment of a fund to collect aid for the Palestinian Intifada” are amongst those measures needed, Khatami explained, while inaugurating the Islamic world media conference for the support of the popular Palestinian uprising.
Khatami praised the Intifada for serving as “the defending language of a nation which is being subjected to the most severe pressure, suppression and terror” amidst continuous world silence. “The Intifada of the oppressed Palestinian people is far from violence and terror; it is instead against violence and terror; that is why it must be hailed,” Khatami added.
He invited world intellectuals, including media persons, and news agencies to pay more attention to the continuous human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian lands. He commented that inattention to this would make the world more vulnerable to additional terrorism.
“The existing situation of the world requires that the intelligentsia and elite thinkers make more reports on the apprehensible impacts of inattention to the rights of this nation and violation of international conventions,” Khatami conveyed.
He also requested the “well-wishers” amongst American intellectuals to inform the U.S. State governors of the consequences that may be faced in light of the White House's sweeping backing of the Israeli regime.
“American [actions] have brought about massive costs on the region and the world through support for the Zionist regime and inflexibility toward the realization of the minimal demands of the Palestinian people,” the Iranian president announced.
“Today, not only are the Palestinian people and fighters are repressed, with the government of the Palestinian Authority being under the most severe pressures, but the policy of muscle-flexing [practiced by the Israeli regime] is formally being backed in different forms,” he expressed.
Khatami attacked the ongoing smear campaign, launched by some western media, who try to portray Muslims as “violent” and “bellicose”.
“Let me announce this in plain words that every Muslim, because of his/her religion, condemns violence, terror and violation of human rights”.
“We, the Muslims, are both being victimized in the light of ongoing terror and violence in the world and, at the same time, accused of being behind the terror and violence,” Khatami announced.
He also re-iterated Iran's position on the Middle East crisis, stating lasting peace in the occupied territories is only possible with the return of all Palestinians to their homes, liberation of the occupied lands, holding of a democratic referendum and creation of an independent government with Beit-ul-Moqaddas, as its capital.
“The oppressed Palestine belongs to Muslims, Christians and Jews. We do not just back the Muslims. We support the entire oppressed people of Palestine,” Khatami remarked. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
