Bibi draws his own (actual) red line on Iran

The Israeli P.M. uses visual aids to emphasize his Iran warnings to the U.N.

Published September 27, 2012 8:06PM (EDT)

 Bibi and the bomb ((Twitter screengrab/Tweetmisnter))
Bibi and the bomb ((Twitter screengrab/Tweetmisnter))

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the less-than-ominous image of a cartoon bomb to push his point about an imminent nuclear Iran during his U.N. address Thursday.

He once again urged the U.S. to draw a "red line" on Iran's nuclear ambitions and drew a red line in marker on the bomb diagram.

"Just imagine an Iran with nuclear weapons. Who among you would feel safe in the Middle East? Who'd be safe in Europe? Who'd be safe in America? Who'd be safe anywhere?… The hour is getting late," he said. He also compared a nuclear Iran to "a nuclear al-Qaeda."

Ali Gharib at the Daily Beast points out that Bibi actually drew his red line in the wrong place:

He placed the line just above the section of the chart that denotes 90 percent enriched uranium, otherwise known as "weapons-grade." With the line at the top, that suggests Iran can enrich safely up to the 90 percent level of purity, so long as they don't go over—which they won't ever need to, since 90 percent purity is good enough for a bomb.

The hawkish Prime Minister delievered a similar message on U.S. talk shows last week and, as Salon noted, also threatened that Iran was just months away from a nuclear bomb in 1992.

Netanyahu also used his address to respond to comments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his earlier speech. Abbas accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians -- a statement Netanyahu described as "libelous."

Watch the full speech below:


By Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Iran Israel Israel-palestine Nuclear Weapons Palestine United Nations