We'll Never Let Iran Get Nukes - Israel

Helen Kennedy, Daily News:

Israel will not allow Iran to get the bomb, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday while refusing to rule out a military strike to block Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "Under no circumstances and at no time can Israel allow anyone with malicious designs against us to have control of weapons of destruction that threaten our existence," Olmert told reporters in Jerusalem. READ MORE

Making a splash for the first time since shouldering power two weeks ago, Olmert also said he hoped to resume negotiations with the Palestinians and sent cops storming into the West Bank city of Hebron to evict a group of rock-throwing Jewish settlers.

Olmert became Israel's leader when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was felled by a catastrophic stroke Jan. 4.

His tough talk on Iran came as diplomatic pressure is growing on Tehran.

Iran recently broke the seals on its nuclear facilities, saying it is resuming research on civilian power. The move sparked alarm that Iran is working on a nuclear weapon, especially after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be "wiped off the map."

"I think there is a way to ensure that nonconventional weapons will not be found in irresponsible hands that could endanger world peace," Olmert said without elaborating.

On the Palestinian question, Olmert said he was committed to the so-called road map to peace, which requires Palestinian militants to disarm in exchange for a state.