"The Iranians need to fear that something that they do not want to happen to them, will happen to them," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned Wednesday in addressing reporters accompanying him on his visit to Moscow.

Olmert discussed the meetings he had, for about four hours, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov that centered on the Iranian nuclear program.

"I have no doubt that Russia understands our position and is concerned about [the possibility] of nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran," Olmert said at the end of his meetings.

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The prime minister stressed that he had made it clear to the Russians "why the Iranians must fear the consequences of their actions, and I will not go into details. These are sensitive matters, and in talks I did not specify what we would do, and whether we would do it this or another way."

Olmert added: "I emphasized that in no case will we reconcile with nuclear arms in the hands of Iran. This is a fundamental question for us, and I made it clear that the State of Israel has no margin of error, has no privilege to err. There is no way to prevent nuclear arms, if Iran is not afraid."

The prime minister said President Putin presented the Russian position on the matter, and analyzed the situation in detail. "There are still differences in approach between Israel and Russia," Olmert admitted, but he reiterated that "they are troubled by Iranian nuclear arms, just like they are troubled by the Korean topic, and the fact that the nuclear test was carried out at a distance of 200 kilometers from the Russian border."

Meanwhile, Iran warned Wednesday that a likely UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions against Tehran would wreck any possibility for a compromise to resolve the standoff over the country's nuclear program.

France has said a sanctions resolution will likely be circulated in the council by the end of this week. Support for sanctions is growing among leading members after weeks of talks between the EU and Iran failed to persuade Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment and start broader negotiations over its nuclear ambitions.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, insisted Wednesday that continuing talks with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is "still possible."

But he warned that "in the case that a new resolution is passed by the Security Council, we will not be in the current point to resume possible talks."

"Resorting to arm-twisting through the Security Council would be considered a security threat to Iran and will change (Iran's) behavior," he said in an interview with the semi-official news agency Mehr.

Larijani said the West knows that their path would incite regional crisis, but he reiterated that Iran is ready for unconditional talks.

In a reference to other diplomacy, Olmert said that the Russian president did not ask Israel to compromise on the principles set by the Quartet - the United States, EU, Russia and the United Nations - regarding progress in talks with the Palestinians. The Quartet conditioned recognition of the Hamas government on it renouncing violence, recognizing Israel and accepting previous signed accords between Israel and the Palestinians.

On the question of whether Israel will agree to prisoner exchanges to free abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, Olmert said, "I never said that Palestinian prisoners would not be released, but I emphasized two subjects - A., we agreed to release Palestinian prisoners even before Gilad Shalit was abducted; B., I said that I will never release Hamas prisoners."

Prior to their meetings, Putin and Olmert exchanged greetings and lauded the relationship between Russia and Israel which they said contributed to cooperation in military, economic, scientific, diplomatic and cultural affairs.

Putin said that a Russian cultural center will be completed in Tel Aviv, catering to the needs of the large community of Russian immigrants to Israel. He also mentioned the close ties he had developed with former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and said he hoped to form a similar relationship with Olmert.

Accompanying Prime Minister Olmert on his Russian visit are his chief of staff, Yoram Turbowicz; his diplomatic adviser, Shalom Turgeman; his military secretary, Major General Gad Shamni; Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon; the Foreign Ministry's deputy director general for Eurasian Affairs, Mark Sofer; and Ambassador to Russia Arkady Milman.