Mofaz: It is time for crippling sanctions

Knesset member Shaul Mofaz said he hoped the release of a U.N. report on Iran's nuclear ambitions will change the way the world deals with the threat. In an interview on Army Radio Wednesday, Mofaz, chairman of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and former defense minister and chief of staff, said the moment of truth regarding the way the West deals with the Iranian nuclear threat has arrived. "Iran's missile range covers most European capitals, and anyone who thinks he is immune to the threat is mistaken," he said. The findings in the report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency are not new to Israel, Mofaz said but "expose the true face of Iran and its intentions." Options for a military strike on Iranian nuclear sites should remain on the table but the time has come to intensify sanctions against the Islamic Republic and paralyze its economy, he said. "We will not accept a nuclear Iran," the former defense minister said. Israel plans to issue a response to the IAEA report after studying the findings, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said. Haaretz said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu instructed cabinet ministers to refrain from discussing the report with the media, Haaretz said.