Israel will not mount a unilateral attack aimed at destroying Iran's nuclear capability, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Wednesday in an interview with CNN.
Sharon said he did not see "unilateral action" as an option. He said Israel did not need to lead the way on Iran's nuclear weapons, calling instead for an international coalition to deal with the matter.
Iran is years away from possessing a nuclear weapon, Sharon said, but warned that Iran is only months away from solving "technical problems" in building a nuclear weapon.
"Once they will solve it, that will be the point of no return," Sharon said.
He did not give details about the technical issues or how he drew his conclusions.
Israel has warned for years about the dangers of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. Sharon said a nuclear Iran would threaten not only Israel but also Europe and other countries. Therefore, he said, Israel did not need to tackle the matter by itself.
Iran has denied that it is developing nuclear weapons, explaining that its reactors would be used for peaceful purposes like producing electricity.
Israeli media reported that during Sharon's meeting on Tuesday with US Vice President Dick Cheney, Sharon's aides presented evidence, including satellite reconnaissance material, about the Iranian nuclear program, but the Americans did not see anything that would influence them to stick to diplomatic efforts to control Iran.
Asked about Israel's own nuclear-weapons program, Sharon repeated decades-old Israeli claims: "Israel will not be the first one to use or to possess a nuclear weapon."
He said that Iran should be prevented from acquiring such arms because, "One should avoid development of nuclear weapons by irresponsible countries."
During the funeral for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican last Friday, Israeli President Moshe Katsav shook hands with the presidents of Syria and Iran, but Sharon dismissed the gestures.
Iran and Syria continue to be enemies of Israel, Sharon said.
"If the moderates there [in Iran] speak about the elimination of Israel as the Jewish nation, we don't see any changes," he said. "Syria continues to [sponsor] Hezbollah on the Lebanese border, so I don't see any change there."
Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas fought a bloody war in south Lebanon until Israel's withdrawal in 2000 behind a UN-drawn border. However, Hezbollah charges that Israel is still holding a piece of Lebanese territory and periodically attacks Israeli forces there.
Israel charges that Syria and Iran provide weapons, training and guidance for the Hezbollah forces, which control much of southern Lebanon.
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