Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 22/11 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 28. November – 11. Dezember 2011 1. Iranisches Atomprogramm Eine Reihe von Vorfällen hat das iranische Nuklear­programm einmal mehr in die Schlagzeilen ge­bracht. So gab das Regime in Teheran am 8. De­zember an, eine amerikanische Spionagedrohne abgeschossen zu haben, die Beweis für einen ver­deckten Krieg der USA sei. Einige Tage zuvor war es zu einer Explosion in der Nähe der Stadt Isfahan gekommen, wo sich eine Uranaufbereitungsanlage befindet. Schon Anfang November waren bei einer Detonation auf einem Militärgelände 17 Menschen ums Leben gekommen. Teheran sprach von einem Unfall, ausländische Medien spekulierten jedoch, dass auf dem Areal Raketen getestet worden seien. Gemeinsam mit den USA und Kanada hat Großbri­tannien eine Sanktionen gegen den Iran verschärft. Infolgedessen kam es zu Übergriffen auf die briti­sche Botschaft in Teheran. US-Verteidigungsminister Leon Panetta warnte indes Israel vor unilateralen Schritten gegen Iran. Ein Militärangriff könne das Atomprogramm ohnehin höchstens um zwei Jahre verzögern. Dennoch ver­kündete Premierminister Benjamin Netanyahu in einer Ansprache, dass er gegebenenfalls"die richti­gen Entscheidungen" auch gegen den Rat enger Verbündeter fällen würde. Europeans still asleep " The recent Iranian attack on the British embassy […] raised Israeli expectations about the chance that the European Union would finally act in a decisive way against Iran. But the new round of sanctions is a far cry from the tough measures Jerusalem would like to see.[…] For the EU, Iran seems to be a side­show and a rather abstract and distant threat. For Israel, however, it is a matter of life and death.[…] By now it should be clear that Iran will not voluntarily give up its nuclear program, even if this means that the country will be reduced to beggary. It's highly doubtful, however, that anyone in Brussels will notice the writing on the wall." Yochanan Visser, JED 10.12.11 Confronting Iran " The fact that Britain’s embassy was targeted pract i­cally as soon as London forbade all British financial institutions from trading with Iranian banks[...] speaks volumes.[...] For now, the UK appears braver than any of its European peers. It remains to be seen if Iran’s latest rabid response to tougher sanctions will convince more EU powers to follow London’s examp le. Quite distressingly, Germany still hasn’t severed its massive commercial ties with Iran, while French petroleum giant Total keeps supplying Iran with refined fuel.[...] The latest rude reminder from the rogue regime must be seized upon by both Israel and the free world to galvanize effective last minute resistance to the ayatollahs’ evil schemes.[...] If the will exists, Iran can still be thwarted." JPO 03.12.11 Editorial A war of wills "Panetta and former Mossad head Meir Dagan agreed that Israel must not attack Iran on its own. The central rationale for this position was that an attack would not destroy Iran's nuclear program but merely delay it by one to two years.[...] However, the physical outcome of an attack is not the point. What we are witnessing is a war of political wills.[...] The U.S. is the world's only superpower, but it acts feeble, avoids confrontation, and is hesitant to pay a price to realize its political will.[…] If the U.S. and Iran both mustered the same degree of seriousness and determination to address the nuclear issue, if both showed the same readiness to take risks and pay a price, the former would gain the upper hand and its political will would prevail.[...] Even if Israel attacks, more than destroying centri­fuges, it would be an overtly political act. The 1