Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday passionately called on the world to stop Iran's nuclear ambitions in its tracks by imposing sanctions on the Tehran regime.

"I want to call on the world that didn't stop the Holocaust last time to stop any attempt this time and what needs to be done is divest genocide," he said in an address to the Herzliya conference, a yearly get-together of Israel's political and security elite.

Iran says its nuclear program is aimed only at producing energy, but it is widely believed by the West to be developing nuclear weapons.

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The Likud Party Chairman said "voluntary sanctions" could be initiated even before the UN imposes official measures against Iran.

"The moment the snowball of voluntary sanctions begins, the pressure on Iran will be immense," he added.

Netanyahu has been the leading voice in Israel for taking an aggressive stance against Iran, often comparing the current era of world silence toward Iran to that toward pre-World War II Nazi Germany.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel could not afford to take a back seat in the attempt to isolate Iran.

"When we are talking about rallying public opinion on genocide, who will lead the charge if not us?" he said. "No one will come defend the Jews if they no not defend themselves. This is the lesson of history."