Israel Matzav

Australia blocked shipments that may have had nuke parts

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told his country's ABC public broadcaster on Thursday that his government has blocked three cargo shipments to Iran over the past few months out of suspicion that they contained parts for producing nuclear weapons.

"If you look at the threat to regional and global peace which Iran poses in its current nuclear weapons program, there is no alternative other than robust international action including in areas such as this," Rudd told public broadcaster ABC.

"We believe that national security, the national security interests of Australia, also demand this course of action," he added.

The center-left leader would not be drawn on the contents of the shipments, saying only that Australia had acted "because we believe we must play the role of a responsible international citizen."

The Australian newspaper reported that at least one of the banning orders, all made in recent months, blocked a cargo of pumps which could have been used to cool nuclear power plants.

"If you look at the status of Iran's nuclear weapons program, and their consistent thumbing of the nose to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the international community more broadly... there are no alternatives other than to maintain a hard line," Rudd said.

If only the Euroweenies, the Chinese, the Russians and the Americans felt the same way....

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:28 PM