U.S., Israel seek tougher Iran treatment

WASHINGTON — The U.S. and Israel said Tuesday the rest of the world isn't doing enough to stop Iran from getting the bomb and accused Iran of continuing a covert drive for nuclear weapons, although U.S. intelligence has said Tehran quit its active warhead program years ago.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israel's embattled leader, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, both used speeches to a pro-Israel lobbying group to complain that European and other nations are undermining the hard line against Iran's nuclear program by pursuing business relationships with Tehran.

"Our partners in Europe and beyond need to exploit Iran's vulnerabilities more vigorously and impose greater costs on the regime — economically, financially, politically and diplomatically," Rice said.

Olmert went further, saying in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that other countries should penalize Iran by barring business travelers, blocking financial transactions and imposing sanctions on Iran's import of refined gasoline and on countries that perform that task for oil-rich but facilities-poor Iran.

"Each and every country must understand that the long-term cost of a nuclear Iran greatly outweighs the short-term benefits of doing business with Iran," Olmert said.

Neither Olmert nor Rice mentioned Olmert's legal and political woes. A corruption investigation threatens to bring down Olmert's government and perhaps with it U.S. hopes for a framework Mideast peace deal this year.

Rice said the Mideast peace effort begun by President Bush must carry over to his successor, a note of caution amid the dire political crisis in Israel. Rice said there is still a chance to frame a deal between Israel and the Palestinians this year, although she said the goal is admittedly ambitious.

"The goal itself, though, will endure beyond the current U.S. leadership," Rice said. "I believe that the administration's approach to this problem will and must endure."

On Iran, Rice appeared emboldened by a recent skeptical report from the U.N. nuclear watchdog. A U.N. report Monday suggested that Tehran was stonewalling investigators and possibly withholding information crucial to the U.N. nuclear monitor's probe of allegations it did nuclear arms research.