FM Miliband: Iran is most pressing threat to global order

       British Foreign Secretary David Miliband says Iran continues to pose the most pressing threat to global order, warning that its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons risks an arms race across the Middle East. In a speech in northern England following his regional tour this week, Miliband said if Iran persists with nuclear enrichment, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others could be forced to consider whether they also need nuclear weapons to defend their interests. Israel accused Iran of continued "fraud and evasion," pursuant to a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and said that "there is nothing in Iran's response that should lessen the concern of the international community vis-à-vis its nuclear program." According to the IAEA report, the Islamic republic was continuing to defy United Nations demands to suspend uranium enrichment - a process used to make both nuclear fuel and the fissile material for an atom bomb. Senior Israeli officials believe there is still time to stop the Iranian nuclear program in its tracks and are exploring all options to do so. In addition to diplomatic appeals to the US and European nations, including Russia, they hinted that non-diplomatic options are "still on the table." (09,16)