Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Israel PM calls for naval blockade of Iran

by Staff Writers
Jerusalem (AFP) May 21, 2008
Israel wants to put more international pressure on Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, suggesting an US-imposed naval blockade and tougher sanctions, local media reported on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert raised the idea of a naval blockade in talks with the Democratic speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, during her visit to Jerusalem, the Haaretz newspaper said.

"The present economic sanctions on Iran have exhausted themselves," Olmert was quoted as saying in the meeting Tuesday. "The international community must impose tougher sanctions against Tehran."

The UN Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran aimed at pressuring it to halt uranium enrichment which Israel and many Western powers suspect will be used to develop an atomic bomb -- a charge Tehran denies.

Asked about the blockade report, Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev would say only: "We do not confirm this information."

Olmert also spoke about imposing air travel restrictions which he said would prevent Iranian business people "from landing anywhere in the world which would touch off pressure on the regime," according to Haaretz.

Rafi Eitan, a member of Olmert's security cabinet, told public radio Wednesday that "a blockade of maritime and air routes against Iran is a good possibility."

Israel, which is believed to be only, if undeclared, nuclear armed state in the Middle East, is also pushing for tougher sanctions against Tehran, especially from European countries.

"It is time that the European Union take quicker action and impose much more severe economic sanctions than those adopted by the United Nations," said foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel.

Iran, OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has refused to heed international demands to halt uranium enrichment, insisting it has a right to the process to make nuclear fuel to meet its increasing energy needs.

Highly enriched uranium can also make the fissile core of an atom bomb, but Tehran has vehemently denied it is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been trying to determine the nature and extent of Iran's nuclear work.