Olmert's nuclear remark sign of weakness: Iran

Astana, Dec 15: Iran said today a remark by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, widely interpreted as an admission the Jewish state has nuclear weapons, was a sign of Israel's weakness.

Olmert, in a German TV interview shown on Monday, implied for the first time that his country had nuclear weapons. His aides quickly denied it constituted an admission or change of policy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, visiting Kazakhstan, called on the world community to take action.

''Their prime minister has announced they have got nuclear arms. It does not show their strength. It shows their weakness.

They are afraid,'' Mottaki told reporters in the Kazakh capital Astana.

''The international community should react to this in an appropriate way,'' he said.

Israel, which has accused Iran of having an atomic weapons programme, is believed to have West Asia's only nuclear arsenal.

In his interview, Olmert said: ''Iran, openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?'' Independent analysts believe Israel has built between and 200 nuclear warheads since the late 1960s. Israel refuses to discuss the matter, under an ''ambiguity'' policy aimed both at deterring regional foes and avoiding an arms race.

Reuters