The IAEA's report on Iran's nuclear programme has raised the possibility of a military strike Israeli President Shimon Peres called on the international community to make an all-out effort to stop Iran's drive to acquire nuclear weaponry in an interview aired on CNN Monday night. Following in the footsteps of a series of Israeli leaders, Peres reiterated Israel's stance that the global community must unite in order to impose "tighter economic sanctions (and) closer political pressure" on Teheran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tuesday in its latest report on Iran's nuclear program that "credible" evidence showed that Iran has engaged in projects and experiments relevant to the development of nuclear weapons.
Tehran completely rejected the report and insisted that Iran had no nuclear weapon programs, criticising the IAEA report as " imbalanced, non-professional and politically-motivated."
Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran an existential threat, and has repeatedly said that Tehran cannot be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
"The Islamic Republic is the only country that threatens to destroy another country, openly," Peres said, referring to Iranian leaders' previous threats to attack and destroy Israel.
"Anybody who takes up the idea of an attack on Iran, should get ready to receive a strong slap and an iron fist" by the Iranian armed forces, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last Thursday.
On Monday, officials from Germany, France and Turkey added their voices to several other countries warning Israel against attacking Iranian nuclear facilities.
Speaking at a meeting of European Union (EU) ministers in Brussels, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that any military action against Iran would topple the world into an " uncontrollable spiral."
Juppe said the EU would approach the European Investment Bank and request them to freeze loans to Iran, the Ynet news site said.