Ehud Olmert slammed the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency for downplaying the Iranian nuclear threat.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told France’s LeMonde on Monday that Iran will not be a nuclear threat for at least three years since the country is three to eight years away from producing a nuclear bomb.
ElBaradei said there is plenty of time to try diplomatic options like negotiation, sanctions and incentives before resorting to force. He said Iraq is an example of how the use of force can make the problem worse.
On his visit to France, Israel’s prime minister blasted ElBaradei’s remarks.
“If ElBaradei thinks that a nuclear bomb within three years should not concern me, then I’m concerned,” Olmert said, according to reports. “I think it would have been preferable if ElBaradei made an effort to stop them from obtaining a bomb.”
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