NEWS,17.05.2012.

Plans to strike Iran 'ready', says US Israel envoy

 

US plans for a possible military strike on Iran are ready and the option is "fully available", the US ambassador to Israel said, days before Tehran resumes talks with world powers which suspect it of seeking to develop nuclear arms.Like Israel, the United States has said it considers military force a last resort to prevent Iran using its uranium enrichment to make a bomb. Iran insists its nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes."It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically and through the use of pressure than to use military force," Ambassador Dan Shapiro said in remarks about Iran aired by Israel's Army Radio today."But that doesn't mean that option is not fully available - not just available, but it's ready. The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it's ready," said Shapiro, who the radio station said had spoken on Tuesday.The United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany have been using sanctions and negotiations to try to persuade Iran to curb its uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for reactors, medical isotopes, and, at higher levels of purification, fissile material for warheads.New talks opened in Istanbul last month and resume on May 23 in Baghdad.Israel, which is widely assumed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, feels threatened by the prospect of its arch-foe Iran going nuclear and has hinted it could launch preemptive war.But many analysts believe the United States alone has the military clout to do lasting damage to Iran's nuclear programme.In January, Shapiro told an Israeli newspaper the United States was "guaranteeing that the military option is ready and available to the president at the moment he decides to use it".US lawmakers are considering additional legislation that would increase pressure on Iran, with further measures to punish foreign companies for dealing with Iran in any capacity.

Chinese boats seized by North Koreans in rare spat

 

North Korean officials have demanded payment before they will release Chinese fishing boats with a total of 29 men on board, Chinese media reported today, in a rare public spat between the neighbours and longtime allies.The Chinese owners of the boats said they were seized by a North Korean gunboat on May 8 in the Yellow Sea, between China and North Korea, the Beijing News reported.The owners said the vessels were fishing in Chinese waters. North Korea has not made any public comment on the case.The North Koreans holding the boats and sailors demanded payment of 1.2 million yuan ($NZ247,819) for releasing them, then cut their price to 900,000 yuan and set a deadline of today, Zhang Dechang, owner of one of the captured boats told the newspaper, which called the demand a "ransom".The 29 sailors who were on board the boats are now in North Korea, said one captured seaman in a call with an owner, the newspaper added.The Chinese government would not publicly confirm any details about the reported incident."China is maintaining close contact with North Korea through the relevant channels, and we hope this problem will be appropriately solved as soon as possible," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a daily briefing."We have also stated to North Korea that it should ensure the legitimate rights of Chinese ship personnel."China is the key economic and diplomatic backer of North Korea, seeing it as a buffer against US influence in the region. Beijing is a major supplier of food aid and oil to the North, which remains isolated by sanctions over its nuclear ambitions and rocket launches.China has been quietly pressing North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, sources with knowledge of closed-door talks between the countries have told Reuters.Pyongyang has sought to strengthen ties with Beijing through frequent visits and praise of their friendship, but the North can also be resentful about what it sees as infringements of its territory, and Chinese dominance of relations.It was unclear whether the seizure of the boats was authorised by the North Korean government, or was the initiative of local officials.The Chinese Foreign Ministry told the Beijing News the incident was a "fisheries case", and will be resolved as soon as possible.