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[[[Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday he had told President George Bush that Israel could not reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran, and that the government is "ruling out no options in advance" in barring Tehran from obtaining atomic weaponry. He told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that "anything that can prevent the nuclearization of Iran is a part of the legitimate context of dealing with the issue." The prime minister said he had made clear to Bush in their meeting in Jerusalem last week that "Israel cannot reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran, and there is no option which we are ruling out in advance."]]]Defense Minister Ehud Barakr said in response to Olmert's comments, "the main things we don't need to maximize with regard to the Iranian issue is talk. It's important for us all to understand that we're better off talking about the subject as little as possible." Meir Javedanfar, an Israel-based Iran analyst said Olmert refused to rule out a military option in order to increase the urgency to find a diplomatic solution. "I think this is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's way of making sure that the international community stays alert on the Iranian nuclear issues," Javedanfar said. "The concern in Israel is that after the [U.S.] report, the world is just going to sit and watch Iran continue with its nuclear weapons program." In Jerusalem last week, Bush declared that Iran remained a threat to world peace, but reasserted his commitment to trying to resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear program diplomatically. Meanwhile, Iran denounced on Monday as "words without value" Bush's remarks that the Islamic state was threatening security around the world by backing militants. Speaking in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Bush said Iran was the world's top sponsor of terrorism and accused it of undermining peace by supporting the Hezbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon, Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Shi'ite militants in Iraq. "Bush should understand that the hatred towards his policies exists ... it has real and logical roots," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted as saying by state radio. "Bush's remarks display his desperation and disappointment because of his failures in the region ... He is trying to divert attention from his failed policies," he said, adding Bush's comments were "repeated words without value". Iran blames sectarian violence in Iraq on the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein in 2003 and has repeatedly called on the United States to withdraw its forces. Tehran and Washington are at odds over Iran's nuclear work, which the West fears is a cover to build nuclear weapons, and Washington is pushing for a third set of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt enrichment work, as demand by the United Nations. Tehran says it wants nuclear technology for civilian purposes.As in the days of Noah....
