PM Olmert travels to Moscow to push for sanctions on Iran

US President George W. Bush yesterday spoke out in clear tones against the nuclear ambitions of the Iranian regime. Responding to a question from a reporter at a White House press conference, Bush noted Iranian leaders' stated desire for the destruction of Israel, and said that all those interested in preventing ‘World War 3' should wish to prevent Iran from acquiring the knowledge needed to develop a nuclear weapon. The president's remarks are being seen as an uncompromising US response to a statement made in the last few days by Russian President Vladimir Putin, following his visit to Teheran, to the effect that he had seen no evidence indicating that Iran was seeking to produce such a weapon.

Israel is currently hoping for that the Security Council will introduce tighter international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme in the coming period. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will travel to Moscow today to meet with the Russian president and discuss the issue of the Iranian nuclear threat. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni yesterday noted that in the past, the need to secure Russian and Chinese acquiescence to the sanctions had led to compromises on their stringency. While the Israeli foreign minister expressed her hope that this would not be the case with a second sanctions resolution, the visit of President Putin to Teheran indicates that Russian perceptions of the urgency of the Iranian nuclear issue remain at odds with those of Israel and the US.

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