Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday warned the United States against a quick departure from Iraq, saying it would lead to instability in the region and undermine Washington's ability to deal with emerging threats.

"Those who are concerned for Israel's security, for the security of the Gulf States and for the stability of the entire Middle east should recognize the need for American success in Iraq and responsible exit," Olmert said in remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

"Any outcome that will not help America's strength and would, in the eyes of the people in the region, undercut America's ability to deal effectively with the threat posed by the Iranian regime will be very negative," Olmert said.

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Speaking by a video link from Israel, Olmert named Iran as the greatest threat to Israel and said it was building sophisticated weaponry systems and trying to create nuclear capacity.

"When we hear such threats ... we have no choice but to take it seriously and we must address ourselves to these threats," Olmert said.

Olmert told AIPAC, a Washington-based Israel lobbying group, that diplomacy was the preferred solution to forcing the Iranians to reconsider their nuclear position.

But he said only U.S. President George W. Bush and the U.S. can effectively confront Iran's attempt to boost its nuclear capacity.

"All of you who are concerned about the security and the future of the state of Israel understand the importance of strong American leadership addressing the Iranian threat and I'm sure that you will not hamper or restrain that strong leadership unnecessarily," Olmert said.

Livni: U.S. must not show weakness on Iraq, Iran
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday warned the U.S. not to show weakness in Iraq, during her address to AIPAC in Washington.

In a region where "impressions are important," said Livni, countries must be careful not to demonstrate weakness and surrender to extremists.

"If we appease the extremists - if they feel that we are backing down - they will sense victory and become more dangerous not only to the region, but to the world," she said. "This applies to the decisions made on Iran, it is true for Iraq, and it is true across the Middle East."

The comments could be construed as expressing support for the Bush administration's policy of toughing out a war that is increasingly unpopular domestically.

Livni said Iran was at the forefront of extremist threats to Israel, the greater Middle East and the world in general because of its nuclear ambitions.

"To address extremism is to address Iran," she said, urging tougher UN sanctions over its nuclear program. "It is a regime which denies the Holocaust while threatening the world with a new one."

"To those states who know the threat but still hesitate because of narrow economic or political interests, let me say this: History will remember."

Also addressing AIPAC, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that an early withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq would lead to disaster and chaos in the Middle East, with either Al-Qaida or Iran emerging dominant from a bloody sectarian battle.

Cheney laid out a dire sequence of events - all dangerous to Israel - that could arise if critics of the war, particularly those in Congress, mandate troop withdrawals or limit funding.

"A precipitous American withdrawal from Iraq would be a disaster for the United States and the entire Middle East," he said.

"A sudden withdrawal of our coalition would dissipate much of the effort that's gone into fighting the global war on terror and result in chaos and mounting danger," he said.

As Congress prepares to debate a Bush administration request for nearly $100 billion to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan for the rest of the year, Cheney predicted that rejection could lead to a major new surge in clashes between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

"Moderates would be crushed, Shiite extremists backed by Iran would be in an all-out war with Sunni extremists led by Al-Qaida and remnants of the old Saddam regime," he said.

The scenario, Cheney said, could then lead Sunni governments, such as Saudi Arabia, to support their compatriots in Iraq and counter Iran's influence, causing an escalation in sectarian violence and widening the conflict into a regional war.

If Sunni extremists prevailed, Al-Qaida and its allies could recreate the safe haven they lost in Afghanistan, except now with the oil wealth producing weapons of mass destruction and underwriting their terrorist designs, including their pledge to destroy Israel.

"If Iran's allies prevailed, the regime in Tehran's own designs for the Middle East would be advanced and the threat to our friends in the region would only be magnified," Cheney said.

The vice president took aim at congressional efforts to reduce funding for the Iraq war or impose timelines for withdrawing troops, saying anti-war lawmakers are undermining U.S. troops in Iraq while professing in public to support them.

"When members of Congress pursue an anti-war strategy that's been called 'slow bleeding,' they are not supporting the troops, they are undermining them," he said. "Anyone can say they support the troops and we should take them at their word, but the proof will come when it's time to provide the money."

Cheney noted that some war opponents are among those calling for tougher action against Iran for both its support of anti-U.S. forces in Iraq and its nuclear program that Washington alleges is a cover for atomic weapons development.

"It is simply not consistent for anyone to demand aggressive action against the menace posed by the Iranian regime while at the same time acquiescing in a retreat from Iraq that would leave our worst enemies dramatically emboldened and Israel's best friend, the United States, dangerously weakened," Cheney said.

"Either we are serious in fighting the war on terror or not."