Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz has said Iran's military nuclear program might be halted without using force, but sanctions and the possibility is 50 percent, Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

Mofaz Monday expressed his optimism on the Iranian nuclear issue, saying that "I don't think it is right today to talk about military options as long as you have not exhausted all the other options, especially sanctions."

"I give the sanctions more than a 50 percent chance (to succeed) . Not 10 or 20 percent. Otherwise we would not be investing so much effort in it," he was quoted as saying.

Mofaz is scheduled to leave for Washington to head up Israel's delegation at crucial U.S.-Israeli strategic talks on Thursday that will center on the Iranian nuclear program.

The former defense minister and chief of General Staff said if the sanctions regime were escalated, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would start reassessing its nuclear program due to financial and economic pressures.

As to the military option against Iran's nuclear facilities, Mofaz deeply concerned that a military strike could ignite the entire region and make Israel under attack of Iran and its allies in the region, like Hezbollah militants, Syria and Hamas.

Two rounds of sanctions have been ordered by the U.N. Security Council over Iran's nuclear program and a third round has beenproposed by Washington. Iran has pledged to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Both U.S. and Israel have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. However, Iran has said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Source: Xinhua