Bush, Olmert to hold talks on Iran, Palestinian conflicts

WASHINGTON – Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was set to meet US President George W Bush yesterday for talks that would focus on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Late Sunday, Olmert held preparatory talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ahead of the White House meeting, which comes less than a week after the midterm US elections which saw the Democrats wrest control of the US Congress from the Republicans. Israeli officials told AFP the Bush-Olmert summit “was not meant to discuss specific policies, but rather offer the two leaders an opportunity to exchange views on current developments.”But other officials described Monday’s summit, which comes six months after Olmert’s first meeting with Bush at the White House, as “a down-to-business meeting” on Iran.With Tehran continuing to reject international calls to halt its nuclear enrichment efforts, Israel has in recent months moved the Iranian threat to the top of its agenda.On Sunday, Olmert reiterated Israel’s position that Iran should be intimidated from the consequences of it completing its nuclear programme, which Israel, the US and European states claim is aimed at building an atomic bomb, despite Iranian claims it is meant for peaceful means only.”Iran will not agree to make compromises if it is not afraid of the options it would face in the absence of a compromise,” Olmert told reporters.He hinted that “Israel has options which I am not ready to specify” against the Iranian nuclear programme, as Israeli officials refused to rule out military action on the Islamic republic.Backed by the United States, Israel has said sanctions are necessary following Tehran’s failure to suspend uranium enrichment.Israel – widely considered the Middle East’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear weapons power- considers Iran its chief enemy, pointing to calls from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map.An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said Sunday that Tehran would deliver a “destructive” response to any Israeli military attack on its atomic sites and that it would continue trying to boost its capacity for uranium enrichment.Nampa-AFPIsraeli officials told AFP the Bush-Olmert summit “was not meant to discuss specific policies, but rather offer the two leaders an opportunity to exchange views on current developments.”But other officials described Monday’s summit, which comes six months after Olmert’s first meeting with Bush at the White House, as “a down-to-business meeting” on Iran.With Tehran continuing to reject international calls to halt its nuclear enrichment efforts, Israel has in recent months moved the Iranian threat to the top of its agenda.On Sunday, Olmert reiterated Israel’s position that Iran should be intimidated from the consequences of it completing its nuclear programme, which Israel, the US and European states claim is aimed at building an atomic bomb, despite Iranian claims it is meant for peaceful means only.”Iran will not agree to make compromises if it is not afraid of the options it would face in the absence of a compromise,” Olmert told reporters.He hinted that “Israel has options which I am not ready to specify” against the Iranian nuclear programme, as Israeli officials refused to rule out military action on the Islamic republic.Backed by the United States, Israel has said sanctions are necessary following Tehran’s failure to suspend uranium enrichment.Israel – widely considered the Middle East’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear weapons power- considers Iran its chief enemy, pointing to calls from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the Jewish state to be wiped off the map.An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said Sunday that Tehran would deliver a “destructive” response to any Israeli military attack on its atomic sites and that it would continue trying to boost its capacity for uranium enrichment.Nampa-AFP