Israel's UN Envoy: Renegade Iran Engine of Evil Muslim Terror

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/8/20/214201.shtml?s=lh

Israel's UN Envoy: Iran Engine of Terror

Stewart Stogel Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007

NEW YORK -- In an exclusive interview with NewsMax, Israel's Ambassador to

the U.N. Dan Gillerman took some time late last week to discuss a wide range

of issues.

The Israeli diplomat raised warning flags about a return to the region of

the Russian navy as well as a resurgent Hezbollah rearming in Lebanon.

Gillerman arrived at the U.N. in January 2003, having made his name in the

world of Israeli business.

A native-born Israeli, Gillerman, 63, was educated at Tel Aviv and Hebrew

Universities.

Before entering the world of Israeli diplomacy, Gillerman served as a senior

executive at two of Israel's largest banks, the Israel Discount Bank and

Bank Leumi le Israel. He is also a past president of the Israel Chamber of

Commerce.

At the U.N., Gillerman became vice president of the 60th General Assembly.

He was the first Israeli to hold such a position since the legendary foreign

minister Abba Eban held the post in 1952.

NewsMax: What is Israel's view about officially declaring the Iranian

Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, as President Bush intends

to do?

Gillerman: There is absolutely no doubt that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard

is one of the world's most lethal terrorist organizations. In fact,

Hezbollah in Lebanon is nothing more than another division, another unit of

the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Units of that guard are used by Iran to

destabilize different areas around the world as part of its master plan of

terrorizing the world ... I think it (the Bush move) is long overdue. It is

one of the most extreme, most dangerous terrorist organizations in the

world.

Will any other nations follow President Bush's lead?

I certainly hope so. The Iranians are the world's main engine of terror.

Anything that is done to minimize the spread of Iranian terror is welcomed.

This has happened with Hamas, with Hezbollah, it took some time for the

international community to understand, to realize how dangerous they are,

and today they are outlawed in most countries and and I hope the same will

happen with the Iranians.

Have the U.N.-imposed sanctions on Iran failed?

They are not working in the sense that they have not stopped Iran from

pursuing its quest for nuclear weapons. They have not stopped the president

of Iran from making his mad, ranting declarations about wiping Israel off

the face of the map. It has not stopped him from denying the Holocaust or

preparing for the next one.

It is our feeling that the Iranians are not indifferent to those Security

Council resolutions though. I think what the Iranians are most worried about

is not so much a word here, a sanction there, as they are about the

unanimity of those resolutions. I don't think Iran is North Korea. I don't

think Iran wants to be labeled as a pariah, to be isolated. I think that

they have been quite rattled by this unanimity of the international

community. I think it is having some effect.

Is there an option to solve the Iranian problem militarily?

I think that all options are viable. I think that no option whatsoever

should be taken off the table. I am sure that there is a military option,

whether it would be exercised or not is another matter. We should exhaust

every option, every way of making diplomacy work. But, I think military

action is very much there.

Syria's U.N. ambassador expressed concern about Israeli military maneuvers

near the border, on the Golan Heights. What is going on there? The Syrian

ambassador at the U.N. is not known for being very realistic or very lucid.

The statements he makes have very little to do with the reality on the

ground ... Israel has made it very clear that it has no intention of

entering into any kind of hostilities or a war with Syria. The

Israeli-Syrian border has been quiet for 40 years.

It's the Syrians who have mobilized, who have engaged in maneuvers and who

are constantly using Lebanon, especially southern Lebanon and their proxies,

Hezbollah, as they did last summer, to wage a war against Israel. Israel has

no intention whatsoever to attack Syria and I think the Syrian government

knows it.

Where do peace talks stand with Syria?

Syria does not want to talk peace. Syria wants to be admitted back into the

"living room" after it was put out because of its behavior. It wants to

regain some legitimacy and especially wants to enter into a dialog with the

United States. So, Syria is willing to make peace with the United States, it

is not willing to make peace with Israel. We are willing to talk with Syria.

But, the problem is, Syria is not willing to talk peace. It is willing to

make some kind of "overtures" that bring it into a dialog with the United

States.

Peace with Syria today is much more complex situation than it was during the

times of (Yitzhak) Rabin or (Benjamin) Netanyahu. Then, it was to a some

extent, more of a "real estate" deal ...it was an argument about yards,

kilometers, of miles. Today, it is a much more complex picture, a much more

ominous tapestry.

It is not just the Golan Heights. You still have Syria's very negative

involvement in Lebanon. Its sponsorship of Hezbollah. You would still have

Syria as an ally of Iran in terrorizing the world. You would still have

Syria as a very negative influence in Iraq. Syria is a major hub, a host for

terror organizations, over 10 of which feel very comfortable (operating) in

Damascus, which is their headquarters.

What about the Russians? Are they seeking to expand their influence in the

region.

Russian foreign policy is changing. Russia is trying to regain its

superpower status. President Putin still regards the demise of the Soviet

Union as a tragic, traumatic event and wants to project Russia as a

superpower, a world power and certainly not as someone in anyone's "pocket"

and be taken for granted.

Russia's whole foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, is dictated

more by Russia's global ambitions and is aimed more at the U.S. than at

Israel. I would look very carefully at the way Vladimir Putin is acting in

the international arena.

Has Hezbollah re-armed since last year's war?

They have certainly re-armed. They are probably back to where they were last

year, maybe even more. We know, we have evidence that there has been

continuous smuggling - more like actual shipments - of arms over the

Syrian-Lebanese border with the full complicity of Syria from Iran to

Hezbollah. Hezbollah has been careful in its actions. It is not parading the

arms, showing them. At the same time, it has rearmed, it is a very great

danger, not only to Israel, but to Lebanon.

Has Israel complained to the U.N. Security Council about the arms

violations?

I met with the secretary-general. The main subject was the fact the

Resolution 1701 (Israel-Lebanon ceasefire) has not been fully implemented

and that the arms embargo has not been implemented, Hezbollah has not been

disarmed ... I have met the French ambassador, the Russian ambassador, the

American ambassador ... we are warning everybody that the situation is very

vulnerable and literally explosive.

Israel's war with Lebanon was prompted by the kidnapping of two Israeli

soldiers in July 2006. What has happened to them?

Their return is a major provision of Resolution 1701. It is one of the most

important, if not, the most important part of the resolution. Unfortunately,

this very tragic and humanitarian matter has not been advanced in any way.

We still have no sign of any life either with Dan Regev or Ehud Goldwasser.

Hezbollah is a very cynical, a very brutal enemy. It is playing havoc with

the feelings of the families. It is not willing to let the Red Cross visit

those boys. It is not even willing to give a sign of life and indicate

whether these boys are even alive. This is just another sign of the lethal,

of the brutal and heartless enemy we are facing.