Moshe Kantor has called on the international community to act concertedly and with determination to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “This is not merely an action against a rogue regime in a region undergoing seismic changes; it is to prevent the undisputed ascension of an ideology that seeks to draw the world into conflict and its means to do so will be on the tip of a nuclear warhead,” said Kantor, who is president of the European Jewish Congress and also heads the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, which regroups world-renowned experts on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, materials and delivery vehicles.
The focus has returned to Iran’s nuclear program with the upcoming release of a new International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report which is expected to include clear evidence of weapon-related nuclear research carried out in Iran. In a press release, the Luxembourg Forum said its experts were in agreement that the Iranian problem should be approached and dealt with by a united front in the international community and not seen as an interest of one country. The IAEA report is said to reveal fresh intelligence that Tehran is conducting secret nuclear arms experiments and has never stopped its atomic weapons program, despite assurances to the contrary. Reportedly, a Russian scientist showed Iranian counterparts techniques that could be used to make smaller nuclear weapons capable of bigger explosions.
The majority of experts in the Luxembourg Forum believes that the international community needs to “immediately” enact what they called “crippling sanctions” against the regime in Iran in order to avoid military action. “Time is running out and another inadequate layer of sanctions will not bring about the desired result before Iran is capable of passing the nuclear threshold, so the international community has to assess all options and do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from this disastrous outcome,” Kantor declared.
“If Iran reaches nuclear weapons capability it will create the most dangerous nuclear arms race that the world has ever known. It is clear that many other nations in the Middle East will be forced to follow suit and the repercussions for global stability will be unthinkable for a region currently so unstable to be dotted with nascent nuclear weapons programs.
"As we predicted years ago, if Iran acquires nuclear weapons then the current international order will live on borrowed time and the balance of power could shift as Iran and radical Islamists backed by the Islamic Republic will hold the world to ransom to its capricious demands,” he added.
Peres: Military action against Iran increasingly likely
Over the weekend, Israel's President Shimon Peres had warned that an attack on Iran was "more and more likely." He told Israeli television: "The intelligence services of the different countries that are keeping an eye on [Iran] are worried and putting pressure on their leaders to warn that Iran is ready to obtain the nuclear weapon. We must turn to these countries to ensure that they keep their commitments ... this must be done, and there is a long list of options," Peres declared.