Meridor: No more time to waste on Iran

The world needs to stop wasting time and must join forces to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, Intelligence and Atomic Energy Minister Dan Meridor says.

"The time is now. There is no more time to waste, and that's not only the Israeli perspective, it's much more general," Meridor told Reuters Saturday.

Meridor said that Tehran's nuclear ambitions are not confined to the distant future.

"When they decide exactly this or exactly that is a good question but it's not the main question," he said. "The trend is clear and if you want to be an owner of nuclear weapons or have the capability of being a nuclear power it changes the balance of power."

Meridor noted that he was hoping for a concerted international effort and was not referring to the need for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

"I'm not speaking of military action. I don't want to give any word that would be misinterpreted," he said. "I intentionally put this issue in its broader context."

The minister also noted that Israel has special interest in the issue.

"Of course there is a special case in Israel because Iranian leaders say…that Israel is not legitimate and should not exist, and one sees the building up of weapons, not to speak of the meaningful involvement in terror all over the place," he said.

Referring to claims that Israel itself possesses nuclear weapons, Meridor said: "We are known to be quite a responsible country. We are in a unique position…I will not say what we have, if we have or we don't have (nuclear weapons), but the fact is that the alarm in the Arab world is related to the fear that Iran may have it."