Middle East Focus: Erdogan and China vs. Petraeus and al-Saud (and Netanyahu)…………..

Arabia Deserta

Erdogan and China vs. Petraeus and al-Saud (and Netanyahu)…………..

“The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has told the BBC that he believes Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons. Mr Erdogan said he was confident Iran's nuclear programme was for civilian purposes only and described President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a "friend". "I told him I don't want to see nuclear weapons in the region," he added. Meanwhile, a top US general has said intelligence suggests Iran will not be able to build a nuclear bomb this year. Gen David Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, said Tehran's weapon development programme appeared to have suffered delays. "It has, thankfully, slid to the right a bit and it is not this calendar year, I don't think," he told a Senate committee hearing, according to the Reuters news agency. Experts believe that Iran could enrich enough uranium for a bomb within a few months. However, it has apparently not yet mastered the technology of making a nuclear warhead. …...…”

Meanwhile, yesterday the media reported outgoing Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal al-Saud urging China to do “its duty” to prevent nuclear proliferation. I would also like His Most Royal Highness the prince do his duty to insure freedom of speech and democracy in the Middle East.
Personally I give up on the Iran nuclear issue. It is a new assessment almost every day by different sources. I think they want to get close, have the technology to do what they want, without producing the bomb. Basically pulling their punches. That is my fatwa for today (it also matches what Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been saying publicly, but I suspect Netanyahu probably disagrees).
Cheers
mhg

Mon Email