'Iran's Mideast clout must be curbed'
Israel's President Shimon Peres
Israel's President acknowledges the ineffectiveness of the West's sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, calling on Israel's allies to join hands and curb Tehran's influence in the Middle East.
Addressing the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum on Thursday, Shimon Peres said the measures taken by the European Union (EU) against Iran “are less than what is needed," and called on the EU to slap tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic in order to halt Tehran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters in the Forum that "We (Israel) are determined to prevent Iran from turning nuclear.”
Foreign ministers of the European Union reached an agreement on January 23 to impose sanctions on Iran which include a ban on purchasing oil from the country, a freeze on the assets of Iran's Central Bank within the EU, and a ban on the sale of diamonds, gold and other precious metals to Iran.
The US, Israel and their allies have been accusing Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program, and have used the allegation to impose four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions coupled with more unilateral measures against the Islamic Republic.
Iran has categorically refuted the US-led allegations regarding its nuclear program, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member state of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
YH/ AZ/MA
