Last update - 00:00 12/10/2006
PM: Israel supports int'l efforts to counter Iran nuclear ambitions
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel supports international efforts to counter Iranian nuclear ambitions, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday, including United Nations Security Council sanctions, and the rejection of a compromise proposal that would allow Tehran to continue with its atomic program.
Speaking at meeting of his senior cabinet ministers and intelligence officials convened to discuss Israel's policy on Iran, Olmert also said that North Korea's recent nuclear test "highlights the need for urgent, determined, vigorous and united action" by the international community regarding Iran.
The meeting was also to discuss Israel's course of action, including the possibility of distributing details of the military cooperation between North Korea and Iran to the media and opinion makers in the West.
Another topic of discussion was to be Russia's position. Until now, Russia has blocked American efforts to impose sanctions on Iran. Countering the Iranian threat will be one of the main issues that Olmert will raise with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow next week.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Vice Premier Shimon Peres, the heads of the intelligence agencies and other senior officials attended the meeting. Mossad chief Meir Dagan, whom Olmert appointed to coordinate efforts to thwart the Iranian nuclear program by diplomatic means, was expected to report on the last few months' developments.
The director of Israel's Atomic Energy Committee, Gideon Frank, who recently met his counterparts at a conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, was also to present a survey. The IAEA issued an evaluation this week of the North Korean nuclear test, estimating its power from half a kiloton to one kiloton.
The forum to deal with the Iranian threat, which Olmert heads, convenes once every few months. Olmert has said that the Iranian threat preoccupies him more than any other issue.