Starvation Would Force Iranians Into Giving Up Nuclear Power: Israeli Official

Iranians should be starved in order to force the Tehran regime into giving up its nuclear program, according to an unnamed Israeli government official.

According to Israel’s Ynetnews.com, the Israeli official, citing North Korea’s agreement to halt its uranium enrichment program in exchange for massive amounts of food from the U.S., said that the threat of hunger would force the Iranian regime to weigh the value of their atomic ambitions.

North Korea is halting its nuclear program in order to receive aid in food, and this is what should be done with Iran as well, the official told Ynews.

Suffocating sanctions could lead to a grave economic situation in Iran and to a shortage of food. This would force the regime to consider whether the nuclear adventure is worthwhile, while the Persian people have nothing to eat and may rise up as was the case in Syria, Tunisia and other Arab states.

The official added: The Western world led by the United States must implement stifling sanctions at this time already, rather than wait or hesitate. In order to suffocate Iran economically and diplomatically and lead the regime there to a hopeless situation, this must be done now, without delay.

The inflammatory remarks come just ahead of a visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – a parley where he and U.S. President Barack Obama are likely to discuss Iran’s nascent nuclear arms program and Israel’s response to it. Speculation is rampant that Israel plans to launch a military strike against Iran as soon as this spring.

Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea agreed to halt its uranium enrichment program and long-range missile tests in exchange for 240,000 metric tons of food aid from the U.S.

Pyongyang officials also agreed to allow inspectors from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit and monitor its nuclear complex at Yongbyon nuclear in order to verify the moratorium.

In an editorial on the Yahoo Contributor network, L. Vincent Poupard cautioned that it is premature to think Iran may follow the example of North Korea with respect to its nuclear endeavors.

“We should not expect Iran to quickly follow suit,” he wrote. ”While this could be a ‘lead by example’ moment for [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un, it should not be looked upon as a foreshadowing of what will be taking place in the Middle East.

Poupard added that Iran and North Korea are vastly different cases.

“There are still many differences… between North Korea and Iran,” he wrote.

“The leaders of Iran have shown their hatred of the U.S. and other Western nations in the past. The new leader of North Korea has not made threats or statements against any non-neighboring country at this point. Right now, he is driven by taking over command and making the changes he sees fit.”

Poupard added: “Iran has a focus of improving its nuclear program and ensuring no other country gets in the way. Iran has an ultimate goal of proving the worth of the nation to the world. The little kid in the corner is ready to explode in an attempt to show everyone else up. North Korea is the kid who might be realizing it is best to become more of a team player on the playground.”