Israel will not attempt to curb Iran’s nuclear program on its own, Shimon Peres said.
The Israeli president was quoted as saying Saturday that international sanctions could still be effective in getting Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment projects.
“It’s a problem that the rest of the world must resolve,” Peres told France’s Le Figaro newspaper ahead of a visit to Paris. “With the long-range missiles developed by Iran, the problem is not only Israeli.
“I would prefer to stop the development of the bomb without recourse to war. Sanctions have proved their efficacy in the past,” he said, offering Libya, South Africa and North Korea as examples.
Asked if Israel could take unilateral action against Iran as a last resort, Peres said, “Under no circumstance. We are not so imprudent as to focus the Iranian threat on Israel.”
Though a former Israeli prime minister, Peres currently wields little executive clout. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, like U.S. President Bush, has refused to rule out the possibility of military strikes against Iran.
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