Israel Accuses Iran of Plan to Destroy Jewish State with Nuclear Weapons

Voice of America, December 29, 2001

Israel says it fears Iran is planning to develop nuclear weapons to annihilate the Jewish state.

In a letter Friday to Secretary general Kofi Annan, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said an influential group of Iranians is planning Israel's destruction.

Mr. Peres referred to a December 14 speech by former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani when he said the Islamic world was seeking atomic bombs to destroy Israel and undermine Western influence in the Middle East.

Mr. Peres says the speech is a clear sign of Iranian hatred for Israel and its declared goal to wipe it out.

He is asking for U.N. help in pressuring Iran to give up its nuclear program.

Iran has not yet responded to the Peres letter, but has always said its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful purposes.

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