LETTER OF THE WEEK

From Today's Canberra Times:


Iran's nuclear plans

The letters by Paul Fitzwarryne and John Richardson (October 5) responding to my article ''Can we force Iran to abandon its nuclear plans'' (October 2, p9) include unwarranted ad-hominem attacks against me. Their primary target, however, is the state of Israel, which was not the subject of the original article.

The governments of virtually the entire free world, including Israel, believe Iran is working on developing nuclear weapons capability. This estimate is based upon hard evidence, not supposition.

Section H of the [International Atomic Energy Agency's]'s August 30 status report on Iran's nuclear program is wholly devoted to the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program. It describes the intelligence it has received regarding Iran's efforts towards developing a nuclear explosive device as ''credible'' and also mentions receiving recent corroborating evidence.

The contention that Iran would find it difficult to enrich its uranium to weapons grade under the eyes of IAEA inspectors is dubious. The IAEA has repeatedly complained that Iran has hidden much of its program from its view - something even some Iranian officials have admitted is true.

The excuse that 20 per cent enriched uranium has peaceful applications ignores the fact that Iran's stockpile is many times greater than what is necessary for medical research. In fact, it is consistent with one conceivable purpose only - the foundation for the development of nuclear weapons. In the meantime, Iran continues to bring more centrifuges online and grow its stockpile further, even in the face of international sanctions. Why?

Regarding the issue of legality, Israel, which has never confirmed nor denied possessing nuclear weapons and has certainly never threatened any country with nuclear attack, is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran, however, is.

Furthermore, the presumption of an Israeli nuclear arsenal has never sparked a regional arms race. But countries such as Saudi Arabia have vowed to acquire nuclear weapons if Iran does. Riyadh clearly fears Tehran more than Jerusalem.

Paul Fitzwarryne's vile and historically revisionist misrepresentation of Zionism, his attacks on Israel's legitimacy and denial of the Jewish people's roots in Israel display even more ignorance than his comments on Iran, which is a mighty feat indeed.

Ahron Shapiro, South Melbourne, Vic