by Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Israel is concerned by U.S. willingness to work with Iran in beating back Sunni Muslim insurgents in Iraq • Minister Uzi Landau: The threat Iran and Hezbollah pose to stability of Israel and other moderate players in region must not be forgotten.
A volunteer in the newly
formed Peace Brigades participates in a parade in the holy Shiite city
of Najaf in southern Iraq, Wednesday
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Photo credit: AP  |
Israel is calling on world powers not to ease
their pressure on Iran to curb its disputed nuclear program should Iran
cooperate with the West in beating back the Sunni Muslim insurgencies
that have spiraled from Syria into Iraq.
A lightning advance since last week has seen
Sunni fighters rout the army of Iraq's Shiite-led government and seize
the main cities across the north, prompting Iran, the Middle East's main
Shiite power, to state that it is prepared to intervene to defend
Shiite holy sites in Iraq.
While echoing global jitters at the Iraqi
bloodshed, Israelis are alarmed by America's willingness to cooperate
with Iran in securing Iraq.
A senior U.S. official said on Monday the
United States may discuss the security crisis in Iraq with Iran on the
sidelines of this week's nuclear talks in Vienna.
In the Knesset on Wednesday, Tourism Minister
Uzi Landau (Yisrael Beytenu) said, "We are working to prevent a
situation in which, in light of the increasing danger of global jihad
elements, Iran and its allies are portrayed as blocking the spread of
such elements in the area.
Israel is concerned about a growing "arc" of
Iranian influence from Iraq to Syria, where Iran backs embattled
President Bashar Assad, on to Lebanon, where it has a powerful proxy in
the Hezbollah terrorist organization.
"The threat Iran and Hezbollah pose to
stability, to Israel's security and to other moderate players in the
region must not be forgotten, so it is a two-fold battle," Landau said.
Israel would "intensify contact with the international and regional powers" on the matter, Landau said.
Iran is negotiating with world powers about rolling back its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of their sanctions.
However, those talks look unlikely to bring an
accord by the July 20 deadline, given enduring disputes over the scale
of uranium enrichment and other projects Iran would be allowed to
retain.
International Relations, Intelligence and Strategic
Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, who liaises with the United States and
European powers about the nuclear diplomacy with Iran, said they had
assured him they would hold their course in the negotiations, regardless
of any Iranian cooperation in Iraq.
Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=18243
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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