Netanyahu warns the UN that 'red lines' are needed to stop Iran having a nuclear weapon 'by next spring'

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu today told the United Nations that a failure to establish 'red lines' to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb 'by next spring' would be catastrophic.
Netanyahu, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, said that the international community had to act to stop Iran having enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon 'by next spring, at most by next summer'. 
In a more conciliatory speech than expected, he did not threaten to attack Iran but stressed that that the United States and Israel were pursuing a united effort and that a peaceful resolution was possible.

Time bomb: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he has drawn on the graphic of a bomb as he addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly on Thursday

'At this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent Iran from getting atomic bombs and that's by placing a clear red line on Iran's nuclear weapons programme. Red lines don't lead to war; red lines prevent war.'
Towards the end of his speech, Netanyahu held up a board showing a cartoon-like diagram of bomb that separated Iran’s nuclear efforts into three stages. He said that Iran has completed the first stage of developing enough low-enriched uranium and that it was almost at the end of the second stage, the further enrichment of the uranium to weapons grade.

 

Once that stage was completed next spring or summer, a third stage, preparing an actual weapon, could then be accomplished within 'a few months, possibly a few weeks'. Building a detonator  for the highly enriched uranium would be relatively simple and easily concealed - and by implication not possible to stop militarily.
Using a felt tip pen, he drew a red line across the diagram and said that Iran must be stopped before it completed the second stage. 'I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down,' he said.

Warning: Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday in New York City

The time frame he outlined was far more specific than he had previously laid out.
In an apparent olive branch after recent tensions, Netanyahu thanked President Obama for his speech at the U.N. two days earlier in which he warned that he would not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. 
Obama opposes a unilateral Israeli strike now and has said he would only authorise a U.S. attack as a last resort. He argued this week there was still time and diplomatic spare room to negotiate a peaceful resolution - something Netanyahu seemed to endorse.
American military and intelligence officials have said that an attack by Israel could ignite chaos and drag the United States into a new Middle East war. They also believe  that an Israeli strike against Iran would be unlikely to destroy the nuclear programme.

Protest: Anti-Iran demonstrators hold placards near the Israeli embassy on Thursday. The pro-Israel lobby will play an import part in the forthcoming US election

It is probably only the U.S.that has the long-range conventional weapons capability necessary to completely eradicate the Iranian program.
Netanyahu said a nuclear-armed Iran would be every bit as dangerous as a nuclear-armed al-Qaeda. 
'The relevant question is not when Iran will get the bomb,' he said. 'It is at what stage can we stop Iran from getting the bomb.' Iran has always  denied it is seeking a nuclear weapon and  insisted its uranium enrichment programme is designed for peaceful purposes.
President Barack Obama is due to speak to Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone on Friday - a day after deputing Hillary Clinton to stand in for him by meeting the Israeli premier in New York.

Back in touch: President Obama will speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. Here they are pictured in the Oval Office in March

Jay Carney, Obama's press secretary, confirmed that the two leaders would converse as Netanyahu prepared to speak at the United Nations in New York. Obama left the U.N. before he arrived and is spending most of Thursday campaigning in Virginia.
The White House rejected an Israeli request for Netanyahu to meet Obama, either at the U.N. or in Washington - a sign of the icy relationship between the two men.
Netanyahu, a long-time friend and one-time Bain colleague of Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has become a key figure in the U.S. election, in which Jewish voters in states like Florida could be pivotal.
The Israeli premier's speech came a day after an address by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in which he said: ''I do believe the system of empires has reached the end of the road. The world can no longer see an emperor commanding it.'

At odds: Obama had previously rejected an Israeli request for Netanyahu to meet him either at the U.N. or in Washington - a sign of the icy relationship between the two men

He then accused the West of nuclear 'intimidation and claimed Iran is under threat of military action from 'uncivilised Zionists' - in a reference to Israel - saying that such threats are designed to force nations into submission.
'Continued threat by the uncivilised Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality,' he said.
The speech fell on Yom Kippur, the Jewish sacred day of atonement that is devoted to fasting, prayer and introspection.
Netanyahu issued a statement condemning the speech soon after the fast ended. 'On the day when we pray to be inscribed in the book of life a platform was given to a dictatorial regime that strives, at every opportunity, to sentence us to death,' Netanyahu said.
‘In my remarks to the UN General Assembly, they will hear my response. History has proven that those who have wanted to wipe us off the map have failed, as the Jewish People have overcome all obstacles,' Netanyahu concluded.

Speech: Netanyahu, pictured earlier this month, is expected to deliver an uncompromising address to the U.N. calling on the world to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon

Support: Hillary Clinton, pictured Wednesday, will stand in for Obama in New York as he campaigns

He will be speaking to the U.N. later today about what Israel perceives as the Iranian threat.
Israel and many in the West suspect that Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, and cite its failure to cooperate fully with nuclear inspectors. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
On Tuesday,  had sought to assuage Israeli concerns and put Iran on notice during his U.N. address.
'Let me be clear: America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so. But that time is not unlimited,' he said.
He warned that 'the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon'.

Old friends: Netanyahu is a long-time friend and one-time Bain colleague of Mitt Romney