BERLIN – The international community has reached “the moment of truth and
confrontation” on Iran’s nuclear program, former National Security Council
chairman Uzi Arad told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Speaking on the
sidelines of the fifth International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear
Catastrophe, which was attended by security experts from around the world, Arad
said, “The Iranians want to get rid of sanctions against them, and the
international community wants Iran to cease its nuclear
program.”
Describing the current situation as a “collision path,” Arad
said: “Both sides have advanced. Iran advanced its nuclear program, and the
international community has increased sanctions.”
Arad, of the Institute
for Policy and Strategy at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and
Strategy at the IDC, added that the next step in the ongoing struggle between
the two camps depended on their “level of determination” to stick to their
guns.
He pointed out that Israel’s expectations were the same as those of
the UN Security Council, which has called for a total freezing of Iranian
uranium enrichment activities, unlike some propositions being raised by P5+1
negotiators – from the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China – who have
reportedly suggested that Iran could continue to enrich uranium to a low level
under an agreement.
Earlier, the president of the Luxembourg Forum, Moshe
Kantor, who is also president of the European Jewish Congress, kicked off the
conference by sounding the alarm over Iran’s ongoing enrichment
activities.
During his address, Kantor told senior delegates from Russia,
the US, Germany and other countries that Tehran has “tripled its enriched
uranium output,” and slammed “fruitless negotiations” that have failed to stop
Iran’s nuclear advancement.
He called on the international community to
toughen sanctions if Iran maintains its current course, saying, “Iran has
reached the red line.”
Ultimately, an economic blockade against Iran
might be required, he added.
Rolf Nikel, the commissioner of the federal
government for disarmament and arms control at the German Foreign Office, said
Germany and the five other countries that are negotiating with Iran would have
to “keep up the option of further sanctions if they become necessary” ahead of a
third round of talks in Moscow in mid-June.