Israel cannot spare any effort to foil, prevent or delay the attainment of weapons of mass destruction by states like Iran, Iraq, Syria and Libya, the head of Israel's Mossad said Wednesday in a rare speech.
Speaking to a meeting of NATO's North Atlantic Council in Brussels, Mossad chief, Ephraim Halevy, warned that Islamic terrorism as a whole, and suicide attacks in particular, pose a "formidable threat" to NATO member states whose "Muslim communities are rapidly developing and increasing in numbers and influence."
Halevy took the opportunity to harshly criticize Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, who he said signs "an agreement with a view to violating it the moment circumstances would permit." The Palestinian leader is also maintaining his "traditional link" with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Halevy was quoted as saying by Haaretz.
The meeting took place behind closed doors, and lasted for some three hours, beyond the time originally allocated. The most senior participant at the meeting was NATO's secretary-general, Lord George Robertson, with chairman of the military committee, Italian Admiral Guido Venturoni, also in attendance.
Halevy told the council that Mossad believed, despite the denials of the Iranian defense minister, that Iran is investing heavily in developing long-range missiles, with a range even beyond that of its Shihab-3, which is believed to have a range of 3,000 kilometers. He added Iran was researching and developing "missiles with longer ranges, which could reach Europe and in the future, even North America." He said he had "no reason to offer for this entry into such long-range development," nor did he know who and what the potential targets would be.
In addition, said Halevy, Iran was developing "weapon-grade nuclear capabilities," though he quickly added, "for obvious reasons, I will not detail our information on this sensitive issue." Halevy pointed out that this activity coupled with Iran's investment in delivery systems "should be a subject of constant attention of everyone of us in this hall." (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
