Israel threatens military strike on Iran

Paul Woodward, Online Correspondent

• Last Updated: April 14. 2009 10:39AM UAE / April 14. 2009 6:39AM GMT

President Shimon Peres has threatened that Israel will take military action against Iran if talks proposed by the US president Barack Obama fail to halt Iran's nuclear programme. In an interview on the Israeli Kol Hai radio station on Sunday, Mr Peres warned that if the talks don't soften the approach of the Iranian president, "we'll strike him".

Mr Peres ruled out the possibility of Israel engaging in a unilateral attack, and said: "We certainly cannot go it alone, without the US, and we definitely can't go against the US. This would be unnecessary."

The Israeli president's statement comes just a few days after the US Vice President Joe Biden issued a high-level warning to Israel's new government that it would be "ill advised" to launch a military strike against Iran.

Mr Peres also suggested that the arrest last week of 49 alleged agents of Hizbollah by Egyptian authorities was a blow to the Iranian president's ambitions.

"Ahmadinejad recruits forces against us, but there are also forces against him," Peres said. "What happened in Egypt created a fierce opposition and we must unify all his opponents - the Sunnis and the Europeans, as well as those afraid of nuclear weapons and terror."

The Israeli transport minister Israel Katz who is close to Israel's new prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday that the Hizbollah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, "deserves death and I hope that those who know what to do with him (in Israel) will act and give him what he deserves".

A report by Al Jazeera notes that seven of those arrested by Egyptian security services are Palestinian-Israeli citizens.

In a televised statement Nasrallah acknowledged that a Lebanese citizen among those arrested was a member of Hizbollah. "I admit that brother Sami [Shehab] is a member of Hizbollah. We do not deny that and we are not ashamed... What he was doing on the Egyptian-Palestinian borders was logistical work to help our Palestinian brothers moving people and goods to the Palestinian resistance. That's it. This was the only true point that was not even mentioned in the list of accusations."

In Haaretz, Zvi Ba'rel wrote: "The open confrontation between Egypt and Hizbollah intensified a bit more on Sunday after the general prosecutor in Cairo said he is considering indicting Hassan Nasrallah for running terrorist cells in Egypt and inciting against the state. The idea is to try Nasrallah in absentia and turn him into a wanted terrorist whose extradition can be demanded if he is convicted. Or Egypt will be able to go after him itself. But it would be unusual for charges to be brought against Nasrallah; an Arab state would be indicting the head of an organisation that is part of another Arab state's leadership.

"The Egyptian authorities have incessantly fed details to the press on the terrorist and intelligence ring that Hizbollah operated in their country. On Sunday night, Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida cited sources in Cairo as saying that not only Nasrallah was involved in the ring, but also the Iranians. The main question is why did the Egyptians choose to release the information now and not four months ago, when the ring was uncovered?

"The answer appears to lie beyond the hostility between Egypt and Hizbollah. Egypt, like Saudi Arabia, is not pleased with Iran's strengthening position and especially the American intention to begin dialogue with it. Cairo was pushed to the sidelines of the US agenda when President Barack Obama opted to begin his 'Muslim' trek in Turkey and not Saudi Arabia or Egypt, and when he gave the Iranian regime a massive boost in his speech. So showing that Iran has blood on its hands was a necessary diplomatic move by Egypt."

Asharq Al-Awsat, reported from Cairo: "the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mahdi Akef, has called for support of the resistance 'by any means necessary'. Hussein Ibrahim, the deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc again called for the opening of the Rafah Crossing 'along with the protection of the sovereignty of the Egyptian state' adding that 'Our enemy and Hizbollah's enemy are the same'. Regarding the Egyptian media's coverage of the 'Hizbollah in Egypt' case Akef said that 'there is no need for media incitement, the judiciary are looking at the case, there is no need for media incitement to portray the case in this manner…Hassan Nasrallah's words said that there was nothing between him and Egypt, and there was no connection between him and Egypt, and there was no connection between him and the Egyptian people.'

"In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Akef spoke about the existence of two [opposing] axes when dealing with regional issues, on the one hand there is 'the call for cooperative resistance' and on the other hand the 'protection of the state's sovereignty'. Akef said 'I say that governments offer no hope, the hope is in the people that must remain vigilant in order to fulfill their duty towards their brothers in Palestine, and to support them as much as they can, to lift the siege and end the suffering of our brothers, to stand beside them and fulfill their rightful cause. I have no connection to governments because governments offer no hope. I have asked the rulers to unite their ranks…and put forward a special agenda to serve their countries.' "

The Los Angeles Times said: "On one point, the United States agrees with Hizbollah's No 2 leader, Naim Qassem, and not such allies as Britain.

"Neither Qassem nor Washington distinguish between the Shiite militant group's political wing, which has members serving in the Lebanese Cabinet and parliament, and its military wing, preparing for the next round of battle against Israel. 'Hizbollah has a single leadership,' said the 57-year-old cleric in a rare interview with an American reporter recently.

" 'All political, social and jihad work is tied to the decisions of this leadership,' he said. 'The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel.'

"To the alarm of Israel and the United States, Hizbollah has been enjoying increased legitimacy across the world. The British Foreign Ministry recently said it would shift course and begin talks with Hizbollah political leaders. And Latin American lawmakers and European peace activists attend Hizbollah conferences on 'resistance' to Israel."

Press TV reported: "Egypt's security service is conspiring against Lebanese resistance movement Hizbollah, a prominent Egyptian political analyst says.

"In an article published by the Qatar-based daily Ash-Sharq, Fahmi Huwaidi said the reports circulated against Hizbollah in recent days were so 'contradictory' that one could easily rule them out as 'unfounded'.

"He accused Egypt's security service of launching a scheme to demonize the Lebanese resistance movement.

"In February 12, the daily ad-Dastur wrote that Egyptian security forces had arrested a group of youths including Sami Shahab, a Lebanese, on November 19, 2008 over supporting Hamas.

"However, later Egyptian press reported that the group was also plotting to stage terrorist attacks across Egypt to stir insecurity in the country.

"According to Huwaidi the Egyptian state-run daily al-Ahram reported that those arrested were planning to launch their 'terrorist attacks' after Hizbollah leader, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah's speech on December 28, 2008.

"The Egyptian analyst added that the group was arrested 40 days before Nasrallah's speech, an indication that Egypt's accusation against Hizbollah was baseless."

pwoodward@thenational.ae