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Peres fires off 'war & peace' offer to Iran

[righand99]

Peres fires off 'war & peace' offer to Iran Wednesday, May 03, 2006 LONDON, May 3 - Former prime minister and Nobel peace prize laureate Shimon Peres sent Iran a warning of Israel's military might while offering the hand of peace, AFP reported. "In the depths of the earth, a weapon of mass destruction is being secretly prepared that threatens the world and Israel," said the elder statesman who is regarded as the father of the Jewish state's own nuclear programme. "We make a peace appeal to the nuclear officials of Iran and urge them to abandon their nuclear intrigues," Peres said in a speech on the eve of his country's independence day. He added a blunt warning: "Remember that Israel is strong and knows how to defend itself." A senior Iranian military official warned earlier Tuesday that the Islamic republic would target Israel if it came under US attack over its controversial nuclear programme. "We have announced that if America gets up to mischief, Israel will be our first target to hit," said Rear Admiral Mohammad Ebrahim Dehqani, quoted by the student news agency ISNA. Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be wiped off the map. Turning to the Arab world, Peres, 82, called for the Palestinians "and Arab leaders who have not reached a peace agreement with us to lay down your arms and speak peace with us".