FM: Israel considers it necessary to expand sanctions against Iran

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 23 /Trend S.Agayeva/

It is necessary to expand sanctions against Iran, so that the country would abandon its nuclear ambitions, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is in Azerbaijan on an official visit in Azerbaijan, said in an interview with Trend on Monday.

"It is our official position," the Foreign Minister said.

As Lieberman said, Israel is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and the statements of the country.

"We believe that the international community should be given the opportunity to exhaust the whole negotiation process within the "Iran and 5+1" framework. Sanctions were effective enough, and from our point of view, these sanctions should be expanded in order to force Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions," the foreign minister of Israel said.

The P5+1 spearheaded the diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to limit its nuclear program, which Iran say is purely peaceful while UN and Western leaders suspect of military purposes.

So far, The UNSC has adopted four rounds of sanctions, inside of the U.S. and the European Union's tightened sanctions imposed to Iran, intended to halt Iran's nuclear program which is suspected to have military dimensions.

Israel, arguing that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat, has said it will not allow Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Fearing that Iran is moving quickly toward nuclear capability, Israel has repeatedly hinted at an attack if Iran's uranium enrichment program continues to advance. Enrichment is a key process in developing weapons, and Israel says Iran is closely approaching a point where it can no longer be stopped.

The US favors diplomacy and economic sanctions and has said military action on Iran's nuclear facilities should only be a last resort if all else fails.