"If we miss this chance for peace, the Middle East will become an uncontrollable nuclear zone and there will be no turning back," President Shimon Peres told a delegation of visiting Republican U.S. congressmen on Tuesday, Haaretz newspaper reported
Peres emphasized to the group, headed by Congressman Eric Cantor, that the world must prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
According to Peres, Israel is currently faced with two basic questions ? what kind of peace it can achieve, and what will happen if no peace is achieved.
Cantor assured Peres that "the American Congress stands strong next to Israel and our main purpose is to strengthen the relations between our two countries."
On Monday, the Times of London reported that Iran has already mastered the technology required to assemble a nuclear weapon and could feasibly do so within 12 months. According to the report, Iran is simply waiting for the go-ahead from its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.