Military strike 'only way to stop Iran'

Nothing short of a military strike will stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, an Israeli newspaper quoted a respected Israeli think tank as concluding today.

"There is no longer a possibility for effective sanctions to stop Iran," retired Brigadier-General Zvi Shtauber, of Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies, told The Jerusalem Post.

"Our conclusion is that without military action you won't be able to stop Iran," Shtauber said.

Shtauber and former Israel Air Force intelligence officer Yiftah Shapir compiled the institute's annual report on the military balance in the Middle East.

Shtauber would not comment on The Jerusalem Post article, and said he would not comment on the report until it is released on January 2. Shapir also declined to comment.

The article did not quote from the report.

Last year, the think tank called Iran's negotiations with the international community an attempt to buy time as the Islamic nation pushed ahead with its nuclear weapons programme.

Iran says its nuclear programme is designed to produce energy, not arms. But Israel, like the US and other countries, is sceptical of the Iranian claim.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly has called for Israel's destruction, and Israel considers Iran to be its most formidable enemy.

A proposed UN Security Council resolution would impose sanctions on Iran, but Russia and European nations have failed to resolve differences over the wording.