JERUSALEM, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Defense
Minister Amir Peretz said Tuesday that Israel's vague nuclear policy has not
changed, Israel's local newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Peretz made the remark as a respond to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's statement implying that Israel has
nuclear weapons,a departure from Israel's longtime nuclear policy of ambiguity.
"We will do our job, nobody should think that with all
that is happening we will remain indifferent," Peretz was quoted by the paper.
He continued to demand that the international community act on the Iran issue.
During an interview to a German television, Olmert,
who was kicking off a three-day visit to Germany and Italy, said "Iran,openly,
explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that
this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as
America, France, Israel, Russia?"
Olmert's remarks came in response to questions that
in case Israel possesses nuclear arms, whether its argument against Iran's
nuclear program would be weakened.
This was the first time Israel hinted it has nuclear
arms, a break from its traditional policy of opacity, namely, neither confirming
nor denying it has nuclear weapons.
Foreign experts suspected Israel has some 50-200 warheads.
Immediately after the interview, Israeli officials dismissed the premier's
remark as misinterpreted saying its was taken out of context.
Olmert's spokesman Miri Eisin said he did not mean to
say Israel had or aspired to pursue nuclear weapons.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Olmert
had meant to categorize the four nations as democracies to set them apart from
Iran, and was not referring to their potential nuclear capabilities or
aspirations.
