The Jerusalem Post

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Jun 6, 2008 22:12 | Updated Jun 6, 2008 22:50

Mofaz: Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't quit nuclear program

By ASSOCIATED PRESS


Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon its nuclear program, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted Friday as saying.

Mofaz also said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "will disappear before Israel does," Yediot Ahronot reported. Ahmadinejad has called repeatedly for Israel's destruction.

Mofaz's spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the remarks, which were much more explicit than anything Olmert himself has said. Olmert has gone no further than hinting that Israel was prepared to use force against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying only Tuesday that "the Iranian threat must be stopped by all means. "

According to the report, Mofaz - a former chief of staff and defense minister - has concluded that international sanctions haven't curbed Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"If Iran continues its nuclear arms program - we will attack it," Mofaz was quoted as saying. "The sanctions aren't effective. There will be no choice but to attack Iran to halt the Iranian nuclear program."

An Israeli military strike against Iran would have US backing, Mofaz said.

Mofaz's bellicose comments on Iran coincide with the launching of his campaign to replace Olmert as head of Kadima Party if a corruption probe pushes Olmert out of office. Mofaz is carving out a hawkish position, and earlier this week, spoke out against returning the Golan Heights, captured in the 1967 Mideast war, to Syria.

A recent poll of Kadima members showed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni easily besting Mofaz in a party leadership race.