In first public appearance since being appointed to post, Dr. Michael Oren says Iran moving fast towards having nuclear bomb that 'could wipe Israel off map in seconds,' Israel concerned about timing of Obama's engagement with Iranian regime
Yitzhak Benhorin

WASHINGTON – Israel's Ambassador to the US Michael Oren warned this week of an Iranian nuclear bomb that could wipe Israel off the map in seconds. "They could accomplish in a matter of seconds what they deny Hitler did, and kill six million Jews, literally," said Oren in his first public appearance in the US since being appointed to the post.

Dr. Oren was a guest of the high-profile conference, which hosts senior past and present US administration and Middle Eastern officials.

He warned that, on the Iranian issue, "There are clocks ticking all around. One of those clocks is the uranium enrichment clock, which will show that by a certain date the Iranians will have sufficient, highly enriched uranium materials to create a bomb that could literally wipe Israel off the map in a matter of seconds."

Oren said that Israel was anxious to see Iran change its policy in the region and "cease its support of terrorist groups like Hizbullah and Hamas that are also trying to wipe Israel off the map."

He added: "It's very important that we watch carefully what happens in Iran… the events in Iran have unmasked to the world the true nature of this regime. This is a regime that's willing to kill its own citizens; it will certainly have no compunctions killing other people in the region, Jews and Sunni Arabs alike."