FM: If Iran gets nukes it will destabilize the region

Liberman tells South Korean FM that if Iran gets nuclear weapons it will pose a similar threat to Israel as North Korea poses to South Korea.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Liberman and S. Korea FM shake hands 370 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Jung Yeon-je/Pool)
Liberman and S. Korea FM shake hands 370 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Jung Yeon-je/Pool)
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman on Thursday said that if Iran gets nuclear weapons it will destabilize the region and constitute a global threat during his meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan in Seoul. Liberman articulated a number of parallels between the threats posed by North Korea and Iran.
Liberman also said that South Korea and Israel face a common nuclear threat from neighboring dictatorships.
The foreign minister added that just as South Korea has been confronted by the North Korean nuclear threat and tactics which led to the secret development of a nuclear weapons program, Israel today faces Iranian plans to develop nuclear weapons under the guise of delay tactics and diplomatic negotiations.
Liberman also implored the international community to learn the lessons of years of North Korea's deceptive tactics of negotiating and signing agreements at the same time as moving forward with a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
He also said that the international community must act collectively against the new 'Axis of Evil,' including Iran, North Korea and Syria. 
Liberman further said that Iran has a significant negative impact in encouraging violence by terror groups in Gaza against southern Israel.
Moving on to discuss ongoing violence in Syria, he noted that Islamic Jihad receives military and financial assistance from Iran to carry out terror attacks, destabilize the region and to distract the world's attention from Syria, Iran's close ally.
The next stop on Liberman's diplomatic trip is Beijing where he will try to convince senior Chinese officials to support tougher sanctions against Iran in continued international efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.