ANSA: Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Tuesday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its controversial nuclear programme . ANSA
Foreign minister says anti-Israeli remarks ‘terrifying’
Jerusalem/Rome, November 1 – Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said on Tuesday the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its controversial nuclear programme .
Speaking in Jerusalem after talks with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom, Fini said the issue was extremely pressing following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s call for the destruction of Israel .
Ahmadinejad’s remark last Wednesday that Israel “should be wiped off the map” was a “terrifying threat”, said Fini .
“I think the entire international community must keep its guard up to ensure that Iran does not produce nuclear warheads as this would be a high-risk scenario for humanity,” he added .
“We hope that in view of the Iranian president’s remarks against Israel that when the (board of governors of the) IAEA meets in November it will decide to refer Iran to the Security Council,” said Fini .
Shalom stressed that “Ahmadinejad’s remarks were threatening but came as no suprise. We know what Iran would like to do: destroy Israel.” Iran was “no longer just a problem for Israel: we hope the case will be brought to the Security Council as soon as possible. Iran is simply trying to buy time to produce nuclear weapons,” said Shalom .
Italian politicians of all stripes are planning to take part in protest sit-ins outside the Iranian embassy in Rome later this week .
A number of MPs and party leaders have agreed to take part in a candle-lit protest being organised by the conservative daily Il Foglio on Thursday evening .
Another sit-in is planned for Wednesday afternoon by the Green party and is expected to draw younger protesters and pro-Palestinian left-wingers .
Democratic Left leader Piero Fassino said he planned to attend Thursday’s sit-in, saying that Iran was waging “an ideological war against Israel which is politically and morally unacceptable.” Ahmadinejad’s remarks are an “intolerable insult not only to the Jewish state but to all the international community,” said Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni .
Deputy Production Activities Minister Adolfo D’Urso, of the governing right-wing National Alliance party, urged parties to make Thursday’s protest a “bipartisan event.” Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Margherita Boniver said it was “disgusting” that Iran was attempting to whip up discord while the international community is working to relaunch the Road Map for Middle East peace.”
