TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Saturday said that, instead of drawing a “red line” for Iran, Israel should draw one for itself and its nuclear arsenal, the ISNA news agency reported.
The “red line” has become an ongoing phrase in the war of words about Iran’s nuclear program, with Israel saying the world needs to lay down such a line to show Iran how far it may be allowed to progress with its nuclear program.
“The prime minister of the Zionist regime (Israel) with his painting at the UN, should be told that, if having the atomic bomb is crossing a red line, then he should draw this for the Zionist regime which has tens of nuclear warheads,” Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said.
The minister was referring to Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who literally drew a “red line” on Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program Thursday night with a graphic depicting Iran’s nuclear program as a drawing of a bomb while addressing the UN General Assembly.
“Which country is more dangerous? A regime with nuclear weapons threatening another country with a military attack or a country which is in favor of nuclear disarmament and pursues peaceful nuclear programs within international regulations,” Vahidi asked.
While Iran’s government took the speech by Netanyahu quite seriously, normal Iranians were reportedly rather amused by the Israeli premier and his bomb illustration.
