Israel must take Iranian threats seriously: Olmert

Israel needs to take seriously Iranian threats to wipe out the Jewish state and can defend itself against a country the West suspects of seeking nuclear weapons, Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Thursday. Olmert's strongly worded remarks to parliament before the ratification of his new coalition government came as Western powers sought action by the United Nations to curb Iranian uranium enrichment and other key nuclear processes. "We must not ignore what the president of Iran says -- he means everything he says," Olmert told the Knesset, referring to repeated calls by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for Israel's elimination. "The State of Israel, which the evil leaders in Tehran have turned into a target for annihilation, is not helpless and it has the ability to defend itself against any threat," he said. Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter, says it seeks nuclear energy, not bombs. Iranian officials have argued that Ahmadinejad's comments on Israel did not constitute a threat. The United States, Britain and France this week drafted a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding Iran curb its nuclear ambitions and threatening sanctions if it does not. Fellow council members Russia and China have balked at sanctions. Believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, Israel backs the diplomacy but, like its U.S. ally, has refused to rule out military action as a last resort.