Israeli Foreign Minister sets 3 months as deadline to halt nuclear program

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Tuesday that world powers should take action against Iran if it did not curb its controversial nuclear program by August.



Israel, which says a nuclear-armed Iran would be a mortal threat, has endorsed Western efforts to engage its arch-foe in talks. But Israeli leaders have also hinted at pre-emptive military strikes if they decide that diplomacy has failed.



"It is important that dialogue with Iran be limited in time, and if after three months it is clear the Iranians are prevaricating and not halting their nuclear program, the international community must take active steps," an aide quoted Lieberman as telling Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during a tour of Europe.



Other Israeli officials have said that the U.N. Security Council, which has already passed sanctions against Iran, should consider imposing more crippling measures.



Lieberman's statement was the first time that the month-old government of hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly signaled a timeline for action against Iran.



Iran denies seeking nuclear arms and has so far shrugged off foreign pressure. Six world powers led by the United States have invited it to talks, but contacts have so far been limited, and Iran has continued to insist it will not give up uranium enrichment, which it says is for power generation.



Israel, which is believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, says the enrichment program could provide enough fissile material for a bomb with months. American assessments say that threshold may be years away, Reuters reported.