|
Trending Topics
|
Defense Minister Adds to Israel's Recent Mix of Messages on Iran
(New York Times) Jodi Rudoren - One day after Israeli newspapers reported that the nation's top general had said economic and diplomatic pressures against Iran were beginning to succeed, his superior, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, said Thursday that the chances "appear low" that the Iranian government would bow to international pressure and halt its nuclear program. In an interview published Wednesday in Ha'aretz, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz described the Iranian government as "very rational." Mr. Netanyahu had told CNN on Tuesday that he would not count "on Iran's rational behavior." Gantz said Thursday that he thought Iran would ultimately decide against building a weapon because of sanctions and the threat of a military strike from multiple nations. Hours later, Barak said he thought it unlikely that the sanctions would succeed and that he did not see Iran as "rational in the Western sense of the word, meaning people seeking a status quo and the outlines of a solution to problems in a peaceful manner." An aide in Gantz's office said his words had been taken out of context. "The headlines that were trying to be made that there's a difference of opinions between the leaders, that's not true," the aide said. "They both view Iran in the same way. There is really no difference in the fact that Iran is the main threat for Israel and Israel is ready to cope with Iran." Similarly, a senior aide to Barak said "the minister of defense and the chief of staff are completely on the same page." Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and a former Israeli ambassador to the UN, said the apparent disagreement on rationality could be explained: "The Iranians have irrational goals, which they may try and advance in a rational way." "This is one of those subjects where every word and nuance is sometimes interpreted to mean a lot more than it does," said Gold, author of The Rise of Nuclear Iran. Amos Harel, the Ha'aretz defense correspondent who conducted the original interview with General Gantz, said he thought reports of disunity between the prime minister and the general were overblown.