JERUSALEM—Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday Iran's nuclear plans were not as advanced as Tehran claimed, and it was still possible to exert economic pressure to halt the program without resorting to violence.
"I think there is a way to stop the Iranians from moving forward on their nuclear program without violent actions," Olmert said in a speech to American Jewish leaders.
"...They are not as close to the threshold as they pretend to be, and therefore there is still time to fight in a responsible, comprehensive and powerful manner," he said.
Iran is at loggerheads with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is a cover to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says it wants solely civilian atomic energy.
The Bush administration has stepped up its rhetoric against Iran in recent weeks, prompting speculation it could be laying the groundwork for a military attack.
Israel, widely believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, sent warplanes to bomb an atomic reactor in Iraq in 1981. Israeli concern has been fuelled by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
But Olmert said recent steps, which include United Nations sanctions imposed on Dec. 23, "are more effective than some think they are".
"They are not enough, its not sufficient, there must be more," he said.
"But there is a genuine chance that (if) all of the international community will join forces and will apply the necessary restrictive measures on the economy of Iran, that it will have such an impact, that at the end of the day it will force them to reconsider their positions."
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