International front against Iranian threat formed : Olmert

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening said an international front had been formed to deter its arch foe Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported on its website.

Addressing the Herzliya Conference on a report detailing the state of the Iranian threat, Olmert emphasized that Israel has been following Iran's efforts to achieve nuclear capability for years, a program he called "disguised as a civilian nuclear program," said the report.

The prime minister noted that the Iranian threat was evident in the financial, military and intelligence aid Tehran granted to Palestinian groups, both directly and through Syria.

The threat was also manifested in Iranian support of Iraqi terror groups and the Lebanese Hezbollah, Olmert added.

"This activity has created an opposing front, which includes, in varying intensities, all the permanent members of the UN Security Council, Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Egypt and Jordan, and other key countries in the West, such as Germany and Japan," Olmert was quoted by Ha'aretz as saying.

"This front is acting to unite forces and prevent this threat from becoming a reality," Olmert said, adding that a diplomatic solution to the Iranian issue is preferred.

Olmert also noted his recent trip to China, which was a part of his round of diplomatic visits. "In all the contacts I have had, there has been clear agreement that Iran cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons or the material to produce them," he said.

Israel considers Iran its most serious threat. It dismisses Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is designed solely to produce energy and is worried by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map.

Source: Xinhua