Israeli minister 'concerned'
2009-07-04 18:07
Jerusalem - An Israeli minister on Saturday said he was "very concerned" about the US response to North Korea's test-launch of a series of missiles and Washington's stance towards Iran's nuclear programme.
"I am very concerned about the United States' reaction to North Korea's gross provocation," Trade and Industry Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said in a speech delivered outside Tel Aviv.
The US State Department had warned Pyongyang not to "aggravate tensions" after North Korea test-fired seven missiles off its eastern coast earlier on Saturday, according to South Korean officials.
The move appeared to be intended to coincide with US Independence Day celebrations and violated UN resolutions.
Ben-Eliezer went on to accuse the United States and the international community of failing to take a hard enough line on Iran's nuclear ambitions, which Israel sees as the greatest threat to its security.
"I am not reassured by the lax US position on Iran," he said.
"The world is playing both sides. By day there are UN resolutions and at night there are thousands of European companies trading with Iran, and (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad is laughing at us," he said.
Israel, the region's sole if undeclared nuclear-armed state, has long been alarmed by Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme and Ahmadinejad's repeated predictions of the demise of the Jewish state.
Israel and the West have long accused Iran of racing to build atomic weapons under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy programme, charges vehemently denied by Tehran.