International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, August 27, 2010

Israeli President Shimon Peres told International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano during a recent visit to Israel that Iran’s renegade nuclear program is a threat to the whole world.

"Iran jeopardizes Israel and the rest of the world, as it threatens to use nuclear weapons," Haaretz quoted Peres as saying. "It is impossible to separate Iran's nuclear plans from the nature of its regime. [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of Israel and has denied the Holocaust. The international community and the IAEA must take these unprecedented statements as seriously as possible."

Elsewhere, recently retired UN chief of nuclear inspections Olli Heinonen of Finland told the French newspaper Le Monde on Thursday that Iran already possesses enough low-enriched uranium to produce one to two nuclear weapons but it is most likely keeping itself in a state of near readiness without actually assembling the components for a deployable weapons. He added that he saw Iran’s pursuit of atomic weapons as a "threat" in unusually strong language.

"In theory, it is enough to make one or two nuclear arms," he told Le Monde. "But to reach the final step, when one only has just enough material for two weapons, does not make sense."

Meanwhile, Iranian Vice President and nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told the official IRNA news agency on Thursday that Iran’s recent proposal to Russia was "for the creation of a consortium, licensed by that country, to do part of the work in Russia and part of it in Iran. (Iran) should show the world our capability in uranium production and transforming it to nuclear fuel."

Russian nuclear officials are reported to be considering Iran’s offer.

Finally, Iran’s continued human rights abuses are being protested all over the world, with over 100 cities holding events on Saturday to mark the International Day of Protest against Stoning. Tel Aviv will be among the cities planning to hold a rally.

Stoning "is a barbaric act that has no place in this day and age," said Middle East analyst Meir Javedanfar, who is scheduled to speak at Saturday’s event. They are trying to create a deterrent and it shows how desperate they are becoming. The government is particularly afraid of women because many were at the forefront of demonstrations last year. The government is trying to send a message to women."

Stoning is just one facet of the fierce internal debate rocking Iran about the government’s response to post election protests, as Radio Free Europe reported on Thursday that the Iranian government has recently imposed restrictions on the numbers of students admitted to humanities programs at universities. The move comes after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the humanities a field of study that "promotes skepticism and doubt in religious principles and beliefs," and lamented the fact that so many young Iranians were seeking degrees in the field. Iranian expats in Western universities warn that the Ayatolla’s crackdown on universities is leading to a chilling effect on the entire country and bringing it ever closer to a dictatorial rule.

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