BICOM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that imposing additional sanctions against Iran due to its nuclear programme would be a “serious mistake”. Lavrov said that there is now a real chance to reach an agreement with Iran peacefully and that imposing swift sanctions would be a mistake. “The problem of the Iranian nuclear programme can only be resolved through an all-embracing negotiated solution in a regional context, and not through force,” Lavrov said during a speech in Moscow. “Attempts to use force would have catastrophic effect for the entire Middle East region.”

Haaretz reported yesterday that nuclear experts told the paper that Iran could be ready to build a nuclear bomb within a few months. Other experts, who reviewed the intelligence used for the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report said that Tehran already has the knowledge and materials needed to assemble an atomic bomb. The experts analysing the situation also said that engineers from Russia, Pakistan and North Korea assisted Iranian scientists with the developments.

Meanwhile yesterday, at the General Assembly of Jewish Federations, US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said that Washington and Jerusalem were coordinated on all major issues, including Iran. Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, confirmed Shapiro’s statement at the meeting and said that on the major issues, including Iran and bringing the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, there was complete agreement between the two states.