NEW YORK, February 1. /TASS/. The threat of force is the only thing that can stop Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CNN.
"I think the only way that you can stop or abstain from getting nuclear weapons is a combination of crippling economic sanctions, but the most important thing, is a credible military threat," he said.
Netanyahu added that if a country like Iran sought to obtain nuclear weapons, it would not comply with any agreements. According to him, three out of five such countries - Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Syria and Libya under Muammar Gaddafi - were stopped from getting nuclear weapons through military force.
Netanyahu refused to confirm or deny whether Israel was behind the January 28 attack on Iran. "I never talk about specific operations <…> and every time some explosion takes place in the Middle East, Israel is blamed or given responsibility," he said. However, he said he would do everything he could as Israel’s prime minister to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
In the pre-dawn hours of January 29, the IRNA news agency reported that a loud blast sounded in the city of Isfahan located in central Iran. Later, the Iranian Defense Ministry said later that an unsuccessful drone attack had been conducted against one of the military agency’s centers. One drone was shot down while two others were caught by defense traps and exploded. There were no casualties and damage was insignificant. The statement did not specify whom Tehran suspected of the attack.