MP’s warning: don’t play down Tehran

LIBERAL MP Kelly O’Dwyer panned critics who suggested Israel should “shrug off” the threats Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made in southern Lebanon this month.

Flanked by high ranking Hezbollah officials at Bint Jbail, a Lebanese town just four kilometres from the Israeli border, Iran’s bellicose president unleashed a broad-ranging rant, declaring: “The entire world should know that the Zionists are destined to disappear from the world.”

In Parliament last week, the Member for Higgins reasoned that the Jewish State “has every right to feel threatened” by the Tehran regime’s volley of threats to expunge it.

“While some in the West suggest that Israel shrug off the latest statements … they ignore the reality of Israel’s situation.
“Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorist activity. Israel not only has the right to defend itself, it has an obligation to do so.

“It’s right to take action in self-defence is enshrined in international law under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.”

Ahmadinejad’s trip “is a clear sign that the Ayatollah regime is extending its influence in Lebanon. Hezbollah is Iran’s close ally in Lebanon, which shares power in a fragile unity government with the pro-western coalition.”

O’Dwyer, who despite her short time in Parliament has established herself as a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community, said she found it disturbing to think that Iran’s nuclear program is, by all accounts, very close to being fully operational and will begin producing nuclear energy at its 1000-megawatt reactor in Bushehr by early next year.

“We have an obligation to speak out against this increased nuclear capability. We have every reason to believe that the purpose of Iran’s nuclear capability is the production of nuclear weapons.¬† And we must stand against this.

“Iran must not be allowed to pursue its nuclear ambitions without fear of rebuke from the rest of the world.

PETER KOHN