海角大神

Israeli Prime Minister聽Benjamin Netanyahu聽drew his "red line" for聽Iran's nuclear program on Thursday despite a U.S. refusal to set an ultimatum, saying聽Tehran聽will be on the brink of a nuclear weapon in less than a year.

By citing a time frame in an address to the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu - who has clashed with President Barack Obama over the urgency of military action against聽Iran - appeared to suggest no Israeli attack was imminent before the Nov. 6 U.S. presidential election.

Holding up a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb with a fuse, Netanyahu literally drew a red line just below a label reading "final stage" to a bomb, in which聽Iran was 90 percent along the path of having sufficient weapons-grade material.

Experts put that at the point that聽Iran has amassed enough uranium, purified to a level of 20 percent, that could quickly be enriched further and be used to produce an atomic bomb.

Netanyahu told the聽United Nations聽he believes that faced with a clear red line,听Iran will back down in a crisis that has sent jitters across the region and in financial markets.

"And this will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to convince聽Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program altogether," he added.

Netanyahu's remarks were the closest he or any top Israeli official has come to publicly laying out precisely which Iranian actions could trigger an Israeli military strike on聽Tehran's nuclear infrastructure.

But by referring to a spring or summer 2013 time frame for聽Iran to complete the next stage of uranium enrichment, the Israeli leader also seemed to dispel, at least for now, fears that聽Israel聽might strike聽Iran before the U.S. presidential election, 40 days away.

Netanyahu's remarks also seemed to deliver a two-part message to the Obama聽White House聽- along with聽Iran's leaders, his most important audience - signalling that the hawkish prime minister wanted an end to the all-too-public war of words with Washington over聽Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions. But they also showed he was not backing down an inch on his insistence that much harsher warnings must be delivered to聽Tehran.

"Next spring or summer"

In his speech, Netanyahu never explicitly said that if聽Iran crossed his red line,听Israel聽would launch attacks against the Iranian nuclear facilities, but he did seem to imply such a threat.

"At this late hour, there is only one way to peacefully prevent聽Iran from getting atomic bombs. That's by placing a clear red line on聽Iran's nuclear program," Netanyahu said.

Iran, Netanyahu said, was well into what he defined as the second stage of enrichment - 20 percent purification - and predicted it would complete it by "next spring, at most by next summer, at current enrichment rates."

According to an August report by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),听Iran has stockpiled 91.4 kg (201.5 pounds) of the 20 percent material.

Some experts say聽Iran would need 200 to 250 kg (440 to 550 pounds) of such material for a weapon. Other experts suggest less might do it.聽Iran could potentially reach that threshold soon by producing roughly 15 kg (33 pounds) a month, a rate that could be speeded up if it activates new enrichment centrifuges.

According to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, around 25 kg (55.1 pounds) of uranium enriched to a 90 percent purity level would be needed for a single nuclear weapon.

In his own speech to the聽General Assembly聽on Tuesday, Obama said the聽United States聽will "do what we must" to prevent聽Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and that time is not unlimited for diplomacy to resolve the issue.

Britain,听France,听Germany, the聽United States,听Russia听补苍诲听China聽have negotiated with聽Iran without success in one form or another for nearly 10 years to persuade it to halt its nuclear pro gram in exchange for political and economic incentives.

The six nations, whose foreign ministers met at the United Nations on Thursday, have held three rounds of talks with聽Iran this year without visible progress. A U.S. official voiced hope for a fourth round "in the not-too-distant future."

As if to highlight Netanyahu's concerns that tougher U.N. sanctions against聽Iran are unlikely due to Russian and Chinese resistance, the group failed to agree on any plan for further steps against聽Tehran, envoys said.

Obama set no ultimatum or clear "red line" of his own, despite public urging from Netanyahu over the past several weeks that has aggravated strains between the two leaders.

"Chart a path forward"聽

Seeking re-election, Obama has faced criticism from Republican challenger Mitt Romney that the president is being too tough with聽Israel聽and not tough enough with Iran.

"I very much appreciate the president's position, as does everyone in my country. We share the goal of stopping聽Iran's nuclear weapons program," Netanyahu said.

"Israel聽is in discussions with the聽United States聽over this issue, and I am confident we can chart a path forward together," he said.

He spoke a day after Iranian President聽Mahmoud Ahmadinejad聽addressed the聽General Assembly. Ahmadinejad said on Monday he did not take seriously the threat that聽Israel聽could launch a military strike on聽Iran's nuclear facilities. He also said聽Israel聽has no roots in the聽Middle East聽and would be "eliminated."

Netanyahu was due to meet with U.S. Secretary of State聽Hillary Clinton聽later in the day.聽White House聽spokesman Jay Carney said he expected Obama to have a follow-up phone call with Netanyahu, probably on Friday.

Obama has drawn criticism from Republicans for opting not to meet Netanyahu or other foreign leaders on the sidelines of the聽General Assembly聽and focus instead on his re-election campaign.

Israelis wary聽

Netanyahu has faced opposition within his cabinet and from former Israeli security chiefs to any go-it-alone attack on聽Iran. Opinion polls show that Israelis are wary of any such strike by their military, whose capability of destroying underground Iranian facilities is limited.

Israel, believed to have the聽Middle East's only atomic arsenal, sees a nuclear-armed聽Iran as a threat to its existence and has expressed frustration over the failure of diplomacy and sanctions to rein in聽Tehran's nuclear activity.聽Iran says it is enriching uranium only for peaceful energy and medical purposes, not for nuclear bombs.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based聽Arms Control Association, said聽Iran's uranium enrichment program is improving.

"By sometime next year,听Iran could potentially amass enough 20 percent enriched material that could - if聽Iran decides to expel inspectors and convert the material to weapons grade - provide enough nuclear material for one bomb," Kimball said.

"But enough material for one bomb doesn't constitute an effective, deliverable nuclear arsenal."