Israeli President calls for "total" isolation of Ahmadinejad

The anti-Israel rhetoric of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is only a cover for his ambitions for Iranian hegemony in the Middle East, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Tuesday as he called for the Iranian leader to face "total" international isolation, DPA reported.

"A person like Ahmadinejad, who calls openly to destroy the state of Israel, cannot be a full member of the United Nations," Peres said, as he met visiting US Vice-President Joe Biden in Jerusalem.

"A man who calls for acts of terror, and who hangs people in the street ... he should be placed in his proper definition. He cannot go around almost like a cultural hero," Peres said.

"Ahmadinejad has to be isolated and not be welcomed in the capitals of the world," the Israeli president said.

Iran's nuclear ambitions are expected to be a prime focus of Biden's meetings with Israeli leaders during his visit, which began late Monday afternoon.

Israel regards Iran as a prime existential threat, given its fears that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons, and Ahmadinejad's repeated statements that the Jewish state should be erased from the world map.