The Sandspur

Issue date: 4/22/05 Section: News

Media Credit: ERIC DRAPER/ KRT CAMPUS ISSUING A WARNING: Prime Minister Sharon meets with President Bush and Dick Cheney with an important message.

While attending a meeting at President Bush's Texas Ranch last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned the President as well as Dick Cheney that Iran is reaching a point of no return in their alleged nuclear weapons development.

Sharon urged Bush to take action and threaten Iran with international sanctions unless the country ceased its nuclear ambitions. Bush acknowledged the warning but decided to continue European-led talks with the country.

In the past few months, the United States has quieted their forceful rhetoric against Iran concerning their alleged uranium enrichment program. President Bush has repeatedly accused Iran of using their nuclear power program as a guise to create nuclear weapons.

The U.S. is awaiting results from the European talks and is considering exchanging economic concessions for Iran's cooperation in abandoning their uranium program.

In January, Vice President Dick Cheney spoke to MSNBC about the possibility of Israel instigating a preemptive attack on Iran to avoid any future nuclear threats from the country.

The Vice President commented that Iran's policy states that "their objective is the destruction of Israel."

Israel has a different perspective on the matter. Sharon believes that Iran is developing nuclear weapons to supplement their stockpiled missiles that could potentially harm Israeli as well as American military bases in the Middle East.

Iran still continues to insist that their nuclear program is essentially designed to create nuclear power instead of weapons. "We continue to support those diplomatic efforts to resolve this in a peaceful manner," commented press secretary Scott McClellan.

McClellan also denied that there was any mention in the President's Texas meeting about Israel taking the matter into their own hands against Iran.

A senior Israeli official spoke frankly, advising that the Iranian issue had to be brought before the United Nations quickly before Iran reached "the point of technological no-return."

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