Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz has called on the United States to step up financial pressure on Iran, local daily Jerusalem Post reported on Friday.

In an interview with the daily on Thursday before his first trip to the U.S., Peretz held that 2007 is the critical year to stop Iran with diplomacy and Washington can play a key role in escalating financial pressure on Iran.

Peretz will leave Saturday night for New York, where he will meet with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on UN peace- keeping forces' role in southern Lebanon and efforts to get the multinational force to stop the smuggling of weapons from Syria to Hezbollah.

He will then head to Washington for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the first meeting between the two defense chiefs.

The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday that Peretz conducted a series of urgent meetings on the Wednesday night clash between Israel and Lebanese troops, the first of its kind since their war ended last summer.

Peretz said at the meetings that "the main problem is not on the Lebanese border, but on the Syrian border, where weapons are constantly being smuggled to Hezbollah."

"We absolutely can't ignore it," he vowed.

Source: Xinhua