Olmert encourages Bush to negotiate with Iran

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said in the NBC interview today that he had no objection to the US negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue to achieve a peaceful compromise.

"Every compromise that will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear capability which would be acceptable to President Bush will be acceptable to me," he said. " I'm not looking for wars. I'm not looking for confrontations. I'm looking for the outcome."

"This is not an issue of Israel only. This is a moral issue of the whole world."

The meeting was the second Olmert had with President George Bush since the prime minister took over for the ailing Ariel Sharon.

Palestinian gestures toward peacemaking with Israel were also a key topic on their agenda.

Tehran's goal is to "ultimately wipe Israel off the map," Olmert said in the television interview.

"The whole world has to join forces in order to stop it," he said. "This is a problem of every country. I know that President Bush is fully aware of that."

Olmert also arrived with expectations that he could make small-scale moves on the Palestinian front, including the possibility of offering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

Yesterday, the Palestinian foreign minister, Mahmoud Zahar, of the ruling Hamas group, accepted an Arab proposal for a peace conference with Israel, diplomats said.

The endorsement marks the first time Hamas, which refuses to renounce violence against the Jewish state, has indicated it would consider making amends with Israel.

The White House reacted positively to what it called "some activity on the Hamas side".

"Both sides are working on it, and we are encouraged," spokesman Tony Snow said.

He told reporters that when it comes to peacemaking, however, "nobody ever said it was simple, without bumps".

Olmert had dinner on Sunday with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government or the US State Department on the meeting.

Israel is worried by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls to destroy Israel and - like the US - does not believe Tehran's claims that its nuclear programme is intended solely to produce energy. Israel accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

While the US has led international efforts to curb the Iranian nuclear programme, Israelis are worried American policy might soften following the Democratic Party's victory in US congressional elections last week.

The fear is that with American public opinion turning against the US invasion of Iraq, Bush, a Republican, would be less likely to take decisive military or diplomatic action against Iran.

Olmert yesterday repeated his view that Iran will not scale back its nuclear ambitions unless it fears the consequences of its intransigence, a spokeswoman said.

"They (the Iranians) have to be afraid of the consequences if there isn't a compromise," spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Olmert told journalists on the flight to Washington.