IRAN:CONCERNS OVER increasing tensions between Iran and Israel dominated the first day of Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin's visit to the Middle East yesterday as Tehran announced it had test-fired a long-range missile capable of reaching Tel Aviv.
Amid growing fears that the standoff over Iran's nuclear programme could result in a military strike, Iranian state media reported that the Shahab-3 missile, which has a 2,000km range, was among nine fired off simultaneously by the Revolutionary Guards from an undisclosed location in the Iranian desert.
"Our missiles are ready for shooting at any place and any time, quickly and with accuracy. The enemy must not repeat its mistakes. The enemy targets are under surveillance," Iranian-run Arabic channel Al-Alam quoted Revolutionary Guards air force commander Hossein Salami as saying.
The development further escalates regional tensions already heightened last month by Israeli military manoeuvres in the Mediterranean which were widely interpreted as dry runs for a potential strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Earlier this week Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted his country had no intention of attacking Israel and dismissed as a "joke" the possibility of a strike by Israel or the US.
Also this week, an aide to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Tehran would "set fire" to Israel and US ships in the Gulf if it were attacked.
The ratcheting of tensions was raised at a number of meetings Mr Martin held in Cairo yesterday on the first leg of a three-day visit to the Middle East largely focusing on regional and international efforts to get the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track.
He will also meet Israeli officials in Tel Aviv and Palestinian representatives in the West Bank.
In Cairo, the Minister met Egyptian officials and the secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, to discuss regional developments, including the three-week-old truce between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and the situation in Lebanon.
Following his discussions with Mr Martin at the Arab League headquarters, Mr Moussa cautioned against the use of force to solve the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme.
"We oppose any policy that would tend to use force in solving such problems," he told The Irish Times.
"The Middle East does not need another war - it needs more talks and it needs the co-operation of all parties.
"There is room for political talks and for an agreement within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the rights that this treaty gives to its members . . . and, with an eye on the regional security, how to build up a region safe from such threats."
Mr Moussa said Israel's nuclear arsenal should not be exempt from the debate.
"We [should not] talk only about Iranian nuclear capabilities and forget or be silent on the Israeli nuclear capabilities. If we approach this question properly, we have to approach all countries with nuclear ambitions."
Asked about the issue at a press conference held with his Egyptian counterpart, Mr Martin stressed that all efforts should be made to avoid confrontation.
"As a member of the EU, we are very much of the mindset that a diplomatic resolution to this issue is the ultimate priority . . . It is imperative that we take every step possible to avoid any situation of conflict emerging that would have a devastating impact on the region," he said.