Netanyahu Draws Red Line Iran Must Not be Allowed to Cross

By 

Matthew Clark

|
September 28, 2012

6 min read

Middle East

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations yesterday, clearly establishing the “red line” that Iran must not be allowed to cross.

He opened his remarks with a sharp retort to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s outrageous statements earlier this week that Israel has “no roots” in the Middle East. Netanyahu stated:

Three thousand years ago, King David reigned over the Jewish state in our eternal capital, Jerusalem. I say that to all those who proclaim that the Jewish state has no roots in our region and that it will soon disappear.

Throughout our history, the Jewish people have overcome all the tyrants who have sought our destruction. It’s their ideologies that have been discarded by history.

He then turned to the root of the conflict we see spreading from the Middle East throughout the entire world:

For today, a great battle is being waged between the modern and the medieval.

The forces of modernity seek a bright future in which the rights of all are protected, in which an ever-expanding digital library is available in the palm of every child, in which every life is sacred.

The forces of medievalism seek a world in which women and minorities are subjugated, in which knowledge is suppressed, in which not life but death is glorified.

These forces clash around the globe, but nowhere more starkly than in the Middle East.

Netanyahu made clear that Israel stands on the side of life and freedom, explaining, “Israel stands proudly with the forces of modernity. We protect the rights of all our citizens: men and women, Jews and Arabs, Muslims and Christians – all are equal before the law.” Here reiterated “It’s because Israel cherishes life, that Israel cherishes peace and seeks peace. . . . Israel wants to see a Middle East of progress and peace. We want to see the three great religions that sprang forth from our region – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – coexist in peace and in mutual respect.”

He drew a stark contrast between those who seek peace and those who seek death and domination, stating:

Yet the medieval forces of radical Islam, whom you just saw storming the American embassies throughout the Middle East, they oppose this.

They seek supremacy over all Muslims. They are bent on world conquest. They want to destroy Israel, Europe, America. They want to extinguish freedom. They want to end the modern world.

Militant Islam has many branches – from the rulers of Iran with their Revolutionary Guards to Al Qaeda terrorists to the radical cells lurking in every part of the globe.

He continued explaining the true threat of nuclear weapons in the hands of Islamic radicals, “To understand what the world would be like with a nuclear-armed Iran, just imagine the world with a nuclear-armed Al-Qaeda.”

He chided the Obama Administration’s apparent policy of deterrence toward Iran as unwise and unworkable. He reminded us all, “Militant Jihadists behave very differently from secular Marxists. There were no Soviet suicide bombers. Yet Iran produces hordes of them. Deterrence worked with the Soviets, because every time the Soviets faced a choice between their ideology and their survival, they chose their survival.”

He warned, “Sanctions have not stopped Iran’s nuclear program either. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, during the last year alone, Iran has doubled the number of centrifuges in its underground nuclear facility in Qom.”

Then he succinctly made the case for stopping Iran’s nuclear weapon’s program, “At this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent Iran from getting atomic bombs. That’s by placing a clear red line on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Red lines don’t lead to war; red lines prevent war.”

Netanyahu then explained, in very clear terms, where Iran must be stopped in its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Red lines could be drawn in different parts of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. But to be credible, a red line must be drawn first and foremost in one vital part of their program: on Iran’s efforts to enrich uranium. Now let me explain why:

Basically, any bomb consists of explosive material and a mechanism to ignite it.

The simplest example is gunpowder and a fuse. That is, you light the fuse and set off the gunpowder.

In the case of Iran’s plans to build a nuclear weapon, the gunpowder is enriched uranium. The fuse is a nuclear detonator.

For Iran, amassing enough enriched uranium is far more difficult than producing the nuclear fuse.

He described how easy it is to hide the production of a nuclear detonator, concluding, “So in fact the only way that you can credibly prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, is to prevent Iran from amassing enough enriched uranium for a bomb.”

Netanyahu then used the diagram (seen above) to explain in detail where Iran is in its progress toward nuclear weapons, literally drawing the “red line” where Iran must be stopped:

This is a bomb; this is a fuse.

In the case of Iran’s nuclear plans to build a bomb, this bomb has to be filled with enough enriched uranium. And Iran has to go through three stages.

The first stage: they have to enrich enough of low enriched uranium.

The second stage: they have to enrich enough medium enriched uranium.

And the third stage and final stage: they have to enrich enough high enriched uranium for the first bomb.

Where’s Iran? Iran’s completed the first stage. It took them many years, but they completed it and they’re 70% of the way there.

Now they are well into the second stage. By next spring, at most by next summer at current enrichment rates, they will have finished the medium enrichment and move on to the final stage.

From there, it’s only a few months, possibly a few weeks before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What I told you now is not based on secret information. It’s not based on military intelligence. It’s based on public reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Anybody can read them. They’re online.

So if these are the facts, and they are, where should the red line be drawn?

The red line should be drawn right here…………..

Before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb.

Before Iran gets to a point where it’s a few months away or a few weeks away from amassing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

Each day, that point is getting closer. That’s why I speak today with such a sense of urgency. And that’s why everyone should have a sense of urgency.

He concluded, “I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down.”

With an explanation this clear and direct, the only question that remains is whether President Obama will choose to stand with Israel against a nuclear Iran. Sign our petition urging America to stand by our ally Israel, defend this red line, and prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

You can watch Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu’s speech to the UN and read the transcript in its entirety here.