In an interview with the Washington Post, the leader of the UN’s blind, toothless International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei (on whose watch Iran’s nuclear weapons program has been able to advance almost unhindered), compares Iran to Japan and asks, “Why isn’t the world worried about Japan?”

So you think it’s Iran versus the West?

Well, it’s a competition between Iran and the West. Iran wants to have its role as a regional security power recognized. They feel they are the most powerful state in the region right now, and that is true, to a large extent… .

They see that if you have the technology that can allow you to develop a nuclear weapon in a short period of time, it gives you power, prestige and security. So it’s a security issue [relating to] how great a role Iran will have as a regional power, the grievances the West has vis-�-vis Iran about alleged Iranian support for extremist groups, about its human rights record. All these are legitimate issues, but these issues are not going to be resolved by calling each other names across the ocean. When you call Iran [part of] “an axis of evil,” you do not expect them to say, “Well, we will give up our nuclear program.” Obviously, they look for their own security, and they have seen that if you have nuclear weapons or at least the technology, you are somehow protected from an attack… . Obama’s change of page is absolutely, in my view, the way to go… .

The concern about Iran … is that if Iran were to develop [nuclear] technology, they’d walk out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, they’d develop highly enriched uranium and the weapon. These ifs are based on, “I don’t trust Iran’s future intentions.” … Why isn’t the world worried about Japan, which has the full cycle of technology? Because there is trust that this country is not aiming to develop nuclear weapons.

But that’s not all. ElBaradei also denies that Iran has issued numerous statements calling for Israel to be utterly destroyed.

The Japanese government hasn’t said that its aim is to destroy the state of Israel.

There have been a lot of offensive statements, frankly, on the part of Iran, although from what I understand, Iran wants a one-state solution [to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict] — not, as reported in the media, that Israel should be wiped off the map.

And ElBaradei won’t “take sides” on whether Israel should cease to exist.

And you know that one state means the end of Israel because there are more Palestinians than Jews.

I’m not taking sides on that… .

Note to this malevolent ogre: you just did take sides.