Mofaz wants intensified pressure on Iran

Israeli minister Shaul Mofaz

Israeli minister Shaul Mofaz has urged tougher sanctions on Iran, saying its nuclear activities pose 'a threat to Israel's existence.'

Mofaz who has been an advocate of launching a military strike on Iran over the country's nuclear program has recently changed his stance and called for taking diplomatic measures to pressure Tehran.

The former Israeli defense minister said on Wednesday that 'the Iranians are the root of all evil' and that the country's nuclear activities pose 'a threat to Israel's existence'

Israel considers Iran the prime existential threat to its security after alleged statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that 'Israel should be wiped off the map'.

Iran, however, has repeatedly stated that President Ahmadinejad's remarks were grossly mistranslated and taken out of context.

Mofaz argued that Iran's refusal to accept the western nuclear proposals is aimed at buying time and called on the West to impose tougher sanctions on the country.

"This has been the Iranian strategy for years, to bide their time and continue with their enrichment," Mofaz told Israeli Radio.

Israel, the sole possessor of nuclear warheads in the Middle East, accuses Iran of pursing a military nuclear program.

The Israeli deputy prime minister, Mofaz, threatened on June 06 that Israel would attack Iran unless the country brings its nuclear enrichment to a halt.

Tehran argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it is entitled to uranium enrichment. Moreover, 14 snap inspections of Iran's nuclear sites by the UN nuclear watchdog, have confirmed the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Tehran's nuclear program.