Israeli Strategic Affairs minister Avigdor Lieberman tells the Jerusalem Post that Egyptian and Saudi Arabian intentions to ramp up their nuclear programs in the face of Iran's move to nuclear power present an "apocalyptic scenario" for Israel as well as for the rest of the world.
"If Egypt and Saudi Arabia begin nuclear programs, this can bring an apocalyptic scenario upon us," Lieberman told the Post. "Their intentions should be taken seriously and the declarations being made now are to prepare the world for when they decide to actually do it."
Lieberman also said Pakistan was a major threat to Israel due to the political instability there and the fact that the country had "missiles, nuclear weapons and a proven capability.”
Lieberman also lambasted International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei as an impediment to the West's efforts to impose further sanctions on Iran.
"He is part of the problem, not part of the solution," Lieberman said. "ElBaradei's behavior has not succeeded in solving anything like North Korea or Libya's nuclear programs. And instead of criticizing Iran, he finds it right to criticize Israel."
Lieberman said ElBaradei was delaying the U.N. Security Council's consideration of a new round of sanctions by not publishing the new IAEA report on the status of Iran's nuclear program.
Lieberman concluded that Israel needed to ignore ElBaradei and to work on its own - together with other Western countries - to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic. He said the international community finally understood that Iran was not just a threat to Israel but to the entire Free World.
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