JERUSALEM: An Israeli-Palestinian peace deal would free up the Arab world to "exclusively focus" on the problem of Iran’s nuclear program, Australia’s top diplomat said in remarks published on Wednesday.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said in an interview with English-language Jerusalem Post that a peace agreement would be a "game changer in relation to Iran."
If a solution was found to the decades old Middle East conflict, it would free up the Arab and Islamic world to "exclusively focus on the challenge of Iran’s nuclear threat to the wider region," he said.
Leaked US diplomatic cables posted online by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks over the past two weeks have revealed a deep concern among Arab states in the Middle East about Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel, the region’s sole if undeclared nuclear power, has not ruled out a military strike to prevent Iran acquiring an atomic weapons capability, an ambition its arch-foe Tehran strongly denies.
Rudd, who completing a three-day visit to the region, said Iran’s nuclear program was a central theme of his talks with Israel’s leadership.
Two days ago, further leaked cables showed Australian intelligence officials have repeatedly expressed concern that Israel may launch a military strike on Iran which could lead to nuclear war in the Middle East.
Face-to-face negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians fell apart last week and US officials are urgently seeking ways of bring the sides back together in the search for a peace deal.
