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16 May 2009 Israel would be crazy to launch a
military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Mohamed
El-Baradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), said in a magazine interview published
Saturday.
Tehran should engage with the United States and
negotiate over its nuclear program, he said.
"It would be completely insane to attack Iran," El-Baradei
told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine. "That would turn
the region into one big fireball, and the Iranians
would immediately start building the bomb - and they
could count on the support of the entire Islamic
world."
US President Barack Obama is actively seeking to
engage Iran on a series of issues, from its nuclear
program to Afghanistan. "I advise my Iranian
negotiating partners: grasp the hand that Obama is
extending to you," El-Baradei said.
Asked what he meant exactly, the head of the UN
nuclear watchdog added: "I think Freeze for Freeze is
the next realistic step. The Iranians would install no
more centrifuges; the West would forego further
sanction measures. During this time, there would be
intensive negotiations."
Israeli President Shimon Peres said earlier this month
other options remained open if U.S. diplomatic
engagement with Iran failed to halt its nuclear
program, which Israel and Western nations claim is
aimed at manufacturing atomic weapons. Peres did not
say what the other options might be but they are
generally understood to include military action.
Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, insists
that the program is for civilian purposes only and it
is its right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
while Israel is not a signatory for this treaty.
Israel is believed to be the sole nuclear power in the
Middle East with more than 200 nuclear heads.
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