Barak: Iran's nuclear program nearing 'immunity zone'
Defense minister warns that Iranian nuclear facilities will soon be too heavily fortified for military action to succeed; says sanctions cannot be called successful until they stop Tehran's nuclear progress.
By YAAKOV KATZBarak at Herzliya Conference 390(photo credit: Screenshot)
Iran’s nuclear program is nearing the stage when it will enter the so-called “immunity zone” when it will be too heavily fortified for a military strike to succeed, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned on Thursday night.Barak was referring to Iran’s recent decision to activate the Fordow enrichment facility which is buried close to 100 meters under a mountain near the city of Qom. Barak has said in the past that Fordow could not be destroyed in a conventional military strike.Speaking at the Herziliya Conference, Barak said that there was a consensus around the world that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon and posed a severe threat to the future of the Middle East and particularly to Israel’s security.“Many analysts estimate that a nuclear Iran will be more complicated to deal with, more dangerous and more costly in blood than if it is stopped today,” Barak said. “Whoever says later might find that it will be too late.”Barak said that the sanctions were a “step in the right direction” but that they could not be called a success until they succeeded in obtaining the desired goal – a stop to Iran’s nuclear program.Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
