Caught by Channel Seven News reporter, Sarah Cummings, Australian Israeli Ambassador Yuval Rotem has revealed Israel’s bombing of the people of Gaza was
a “preintroduction” to tackling the military threat posed by a nuclear-equipped Iran.
Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem told a meeting of Sydney’s Jewish community yesterday that he expected Iran would soon pose a major nuclear threat.
Seven News reporter Sarah Cummings reported that after telling a camera operator to turn off his camera, Mr Rotem told those gathered he expected Iran to stockpile enough uranium over the next 14 months to “be at the point of no return”.
“(He said) the country’s recent military offensives were a preintroduction to the challenge Israel expects from a nuclear-equipped Iran within a year,” Cummings said.
During the meeting, held in a relaxed breakfast setting, Mr Rotem spoke about the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 1300 Palestinians.
Cummings said Mr Rotem made the point that “Israel’s efforts in Gaza were to bring about understanding that we are ready to engage in a decisive way.”
Seven said a staff member had invited Seven News “accidentally”.
While being filmed before the discussion, mr Rotem said, “The best thing to do is to have a very open dialogue if there are no reporters or journalists here,” before telling the cameraman to stop filming.
He said: “I am far more reserved in the way I am saying my things (on camera).”
World Vision Tim Costello chief executive said: “There is a view there that Iran is the serious issue and the serious problem, and that is widely known and widely discussed in the Jewish community.”
Later in the afternoon, the Israeli ambassador denied that Israel was planning an attack, but said Iran needed to be stopped.
Israel has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran, and while its officials have repeatedly attempted to tie the Iranian government to its war on the Gaza Strip this is the first time one of their officials has publicly (if inadvertently so) suggested that the attack on the strip was a warm-up to its long talked about attack on Iran.
If Israel was genuinely seeking peace in the region, it would give back the land it has stolen from Palestinian people, compensate refugees and release the tens of thousands of Palestinian prisoners it is holding in its dungeons, and then shed its nukes. Instead it is prevaricating about Iran’s intentions in the same way it lied about Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
Will its pathetic, warmongering lies work this time? will the West spend more blood and treasure to do Israel’s abominable bidding again? or will expansionist, apartheid Israel finally be diagnosed correctly by the US as the sociopathic monster and enemy of peace it is and shunned as apartheid South Africa rightly was in time to save Iran’s 70 million people from abhorrent collective punishment such as Israel inflicted on the people of Gaza?
Perhaps Tim Costello’s comment was reported out of context. I hope so. If not, what shameful collusion on Costello’s part. How about a strong condemnation of any more unprovoked attacks?
It *was* in the Australian – keep your eyes out for the event reported elsewhere. What was Costello doing at the function? Is this story a clue? He seems to be suggesting the catastrophic impact of Israel’s bombing of Gaza is equivalent to the puny effect of Palestinian rockets. Does this story offer a further clue? Odd that he would make such a politicised statement on Iran on behalf of the ‘jewish community’.