Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert believes that the time for a peaceful solution to end the Iranian attempts to equip itself with nuclear weapons is running out. Olmert expressed his opinion during a meeting with the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who visited Israel on Sunday.

Olmert's office issued a statement according to which the Israeli Prim Minister has said during discussions with Kouchner that Iran could have all the components to assemble a nuclear bomb by the end of 2009 and that will happen if circumstances regarding the building of the nuclear weapons work in Iran’s favor.  

Israel regards the Iranian nuclear armament issue as a primary strategic menace. Teheran’s hostility towards Israel is well known and the statements released by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he has said that the Jewish state should be wiped off the map confirm it.

Israel Minister Tzipi Livni said during the news conference at which Kouchner took part as well that "more enhanced, stronger and immediate," sanctions against Iran should be imposed.

Talking about the nuclear issue, the French Foreign Minister said that his country isn’t opposing the use of nuclear power for civilian purposes, but France is “not ready to accept an (Iranian) atomic bomb."

"We are against proliferation, and proliferations starts with one (atomic) bomb in Iran," he said.

Kouchner added that the European countries are working on further sanctions on Iran, but they won’t implement them yet.

These declarations coming from Israeli and French high-ranking officials were reactions to the recently passed verdict on Iran’s nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  The UN-backed agency said in its verdict that Teheran was generally telling the truth, but lacking full transparency and being reactive rather than proactive.

Iran celebrated the verdict as a political victory. Nevertheless, several Western states regard the verdict as a weakening of the pressure imposed on Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program.