UN Criticizes "Shrill War Talk" in Iran Nuclear Dispute

By Reuters September 28, 2012

The United Nations on Friday called on all sides in the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program to tone down “shrill war talk,” the first U.N. reaction to clashes at the world body this week between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“It’s obvious that harsh tones and rhetoric are not going to be helpful, that is quite clear,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said when asked about Netanyahu’s U.N. speech. “What is also clear is that Iran needs to prove to the international community that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.”

Using a cartoonish diagram of a bomb, Netanyahu suggested to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that Israel could use military action to prevent Iran from reaching the point where it has enough uranium enriched for a bomb. He suggested that that point could come by spring or summer 2013.

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