IAEA chief: Offensive would turn ME into "fireball," make Teheran determined to get nuclear power.
By JPOST.COM STAFFElBaradei 224.88(photo credit: AP [file])
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamad ElBaradei, will quit his position in the event of a military strike on Iran, according to a Reuters report Friday.
The report quoted him as warning that any military offensive in Iran would turn the Middle East region "into a fireball."
"I don't believe that what I see in Iran today is a current, grave and urgent danger. If a military strike is carried out against Iran at this time ... it would make me unable to continue my work," said the IAEA chief.
ElBaradei, repeatedly stressing that a military strike would be the worst result for the region, added that an attack would give Iran more motivation to obtain nuclear power, Reuters reported.
"If you do a military strike, it will mean that Iran, if it is not already making nuclear weapons, will launch a crash course to build nuclear weapons with the blessing of all Iranians, even those in the West," he predicted.
ElBaradei's comments came on the same day as The New York Times reported that the IAF carried out a major military drill during the first week of June that US sources say was apparently a rehearsal for a potential attack on Iran's nuclear sites.
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![ElBaradei 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/15619 "ElBaradei 224.88")