By Xinhua
Jerusalem : Israel will not accept Iran with nuclear power, and all possible options against the Islamic republic are being considered in this regard, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday.
Olmert made the remarks at a meeting of the Knesset (Parliament)’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, during which he would brief the committee members on the Iranian issue, the security situation on the northern front and the negotiations on the core issues with the Palestinians.
He told the lawmakers that “we are not ruling out any option” and “anything that can lead to preventing Iran from nuclear capability is part of the legitimate context when dealing with the problem.”
The prime minister’s remarks is considered one of his harshest against Iran, local daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.
During Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Olmert said that “despite what has been said in the American intelligence services’ report, Iran was a danger and continues to be a danger. There is room to act in order to remove this danger, and the United States is definitely aware of this.”
In a joint press conference with Olmert last week, U.S. President George W. Bush said his interpretation of the intelligence report was that the Iranian threat should be taken seriously.
On Sunday afternoon, during a policy speech delivered in Abu Dhabi in his eight-day Mideast tour, Bush accused Iran of the world’s “leading state sponsor of terror”.
He charged Iran with supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, Taliban, al-Qaida and its affiliates as well as extremist Shiites in Iraq, defying the United Nations and destabilizing the region by refusing to be open about its nuclear program.