Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he was prepared to eliminate his country's settlements in the West Bank in order to win U.S. support for his policies toward Iran's disputed nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 26).
Israel, the United States and some European nations suspect that Iran's nuclear program is geared toward nuclear-weapon development; Tehran has firmly denied the assertion while refusing to halts its atomic work. U.S. President Barack Obama has pursued dialogue aimed at resolving the nuclear standoff, but Israeli leaders have expressed concern that Iran could use potential talks to delay further sanctions.
"I identify the danger and that's why I am willing to take unpopular steps such as evacuating outposts. The Iranian threat is above everything," Netanyahu told Israeli political allies, according to the Yediot Aharonot.
"There are things on which you have to compromise," he said (Yana Dlugy, Agence France-Presse/Google News, May 26).
Meanwhile, Bolivia yesterday refuted a reported Israeli allegation that it was providing uranium for Iran's nuclear program, the Associated Press reported.
"There isn't even a precise geological study of uranium deposits [in Bolivia], and much less can there be talk of export," said Bolivian Mining Minister Luis Alberto Echazu.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez did not directly challenge a similar accusation leveled at his country, but he related it to other negative portrayals of his government.
"They accuse us of anything," Chavez said. "I saw in the press yesterday ... a supposed official document of the Israeli government where it says Venezuela is supporting Iran in the construction of the atomic bomb, that we're sending uranium."
The U.S. State Department referred questions about the uranium allegations to Israel, but spokesman Ian Kelly noted that Washington was monitoring Iranian imports for cargo that violates U.N. Security Council sanctions.
"All U.N. members are obligated to implement existing U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions on Iran," he said. "We are certainly monitoring for any indication or any actions that might be in breach."
It is unlikely that Iran is purchasing uranium from other countries, one specialist said.
"Iran does not need to import uranium from abroad," said Farideh Farhi, an Iran expert at the University of Hawaii. "Iran has uranium deposits itself. There is a real issue about Iran's deposits being large enough to sustain the ambitious enrichment program Iran is envisioning in the future, but at this point this is not an issue" (Carlos Valdez, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, May 26).