Iran is a threat to the entire world: Israel defense minister

October 11th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Amid growing tensions with Iran, the United States and Israel will reportedly conduct a joint missile defense exercise this week in order to simulate a response in the event of war between Israel, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. The 'Juniper Cobra exercise' will begin on Monday and conclude on Friday and more than 1,000 American troops from the European Command in Germany have been deployed in Israel for the whole process, The Jerusalem Post reports.

September 30th, 2009 Israel: New Iranian reactor requires new sanctionsJERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister won't rule out a military strike on Iran after the discovery of a secret Iranian nuclear facility. Ehud Barak says severe sanctions must be imposed on Iran following the revelations of the clandestine uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom.

September 24th, 2009 Israel welcomes Russian stand on Iran sanctionsJERUSALEM — A senior Israeli official welcomes steps by Russia toward endorsing additional sanctions against Iran as a way of stopping its nuclear program. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the door to a firm international stand against Iran.

September 22nd, 2009 Netanyahu: Iran suspectible to pressureNEW YORK — Israel reserves the right to defend itself against a nuclear threat from Iran, but the Islamic Republic's inner turmoil and weakened economy make it susceptible to pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. Speculation has been rife that Israel might attack Iran's nuclear facilities to prevent archenemy Tehran from producing the atomic bombs it denies it is trying to build.

September 17th, 2009 Israel says Mideast not ready for nuclear arms banJERUSALEM — Israel's defense minister said in remarks published Thursday that the Middle East is too unruly for a region-wide nuclear arms ban, arguing that the Muslim world must first "behave like Western Europe." Defense Minister Ehud Barak also said Iran's nuclear program is a threat to world peace. His comments come ahead of a U.S.-sponsored world meeting later this month to discourage nuclear proliferation.

July 20th, 2009 JERUSALEM - A senior US defense official has warned that an Israeli strike on Iran could have profoundly destabilizing consequences, and would directly affect US interests. "A unilateral third-party attack on Iran's nuclear program could have profoundly destabilizing consequences, and it wouldn't just affect the general level of stability in the region.

June 22nd, 2009 BERLIN - Iran's nuclear weapons programme could destabilise the Middle East and is a threat not just to Israel but the entire world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. In an interview published Monday in German daily Bild, he said the main goal should be to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

June 17th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The chief of Israel's intelligence agency has expressed fear over Iran's capability to make a nuclear bomb by 2014, which he claims, could have "an existential threat to Israel." "Iran wants to be like Egypt was in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a lot of cooperation between Iran, North Korea and Syria.

June 3rd, 2009 FM says Israel does not intend to bomb IranMOSCOW — Israel's foreign minister says his country does not intend to bomb Iran. Avigdor Lieberman is also telling reporters that other countries in the region and around the world should be concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

June 3rd, 2009 Foreign Minister: Israel not going to bomb IranMOSCOW — Israel does not intend to bomb Iran, Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday in the most explicit comments on the matter by a top minister of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to date. Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Russia, Avigdor Lieberman also said that other countries in the Middle East and around the world should be concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

June 3rd, 2009 Israel not going to bomb Iran: FMMOSCOW — Israel does not intend to bomb Iran, Israel's foreign minister said Wednesday in the most explicit comments on the matter by a top minister of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to date. Speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Russia, Avigdor Lieberman also said that other countries in the Middle East and around the world should be concerned about Iran's nuclear program.

May 18th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama has said he understands why Israel considers Iran an existential threat. "I understand very clearly that Israel considers Iran an existential threat, and given some of the statements that have been made by [Iranian] President [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, you can understand why," The Jerusalem Post quoted Obama, as saying.

May 7th, 2009 JERUSALEM - Israel has said that it has the capability to deter and defend itself against any threat or possible combination of threats. Israel's policy of ambiguity with regard to its undeclared nuclear capability is not likely to change in the near future.

April 22nd, 2009 Israel: Halt Iran to allow Mideast peace effortsJERUSALEM — Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Wednesday that Iran must be reined in if Israel and the Palestinians hope to move along the path to peace. Ayalon made it clear, however, that this was not an Israeli condition for going ahead with peacemaking, though Israel charges that Iran is the main backer of the violent Islamic Hamas rulers of Gaza as well as Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

April 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that if US President Obama doesn't act to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon, the Israelis may be forced to attack Iran. An article titled, "Netanyahu to Obama: Stop Iran-Or I Will" in The Atlantic makes the threat of a unilateral strike on Iran's nuclear sites very explicit, reports CBS.