Iran high on the agenda for Olmert's Berlin talks

By Jeffrey Heller

BERLIN (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a visit to Germany on Sunday, planning to lobby for tougher measures to force Iran to curb a nuclear program he has called a threat to Israel's existence.

"The issues we will discuss in Germany are important for Israel's security," Olmert told reporters on the flight to Berlin, where he will spend two days.

A senior Israeli official said the time had come "to upgrade the economic and diplomatic pressure" on Iran.

"This has to be done, obviously, at the United Nations, but also bilaterally," said the official, urging countries that have economic interests in Iran "to exert their own pressure".

Germany has traditionally been among the top exporters to Iran, sending 4.1 billion euros of goods in 2006.

The United States has accused Iran of having a secret program to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

The Israeli official said the Iranian issue would likely "play a large part" in Olmert's talks on Tuesday with Chancellor Angela Merkel. A German government spokesman also said Iran would be a major topic of discussion.

Last month, Germany joined the five permanent U.N. Security Council members -- Britain, the United States, France, Russia and China -- in circulating a proposal for a third sanctions resolution against Iran calling for mandatory travel bans, asset freezes and vigilance on all banks in the Islamic Republic.

Diplomats believe a vote is weeks away, with Washington frustrated at the pace at which the council is considering the draft and some countries' desire to wait until a report on Iran due later this month from the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.

ISRAELI STANCE

Olmert said last month Israel would not be reconciled to a nuclear Iran and "all options are on the table". Israel is widely believed to have built atomic weapons of its own.

On Wednesday, diplomats said Iran was testing an advanced centrifuge at its Natanz nuclear complex, a move that could lead to Tehran enriching uranium much faster and gaining the means to build atom bombs.

Iran says it wants nuclear energy only for electricity so it can export more oil. But it is under sanctions for hiding the program until 2003, preventing U.N. inspectors since then from verifying it is wholly peaceful and refusing to suspend it.

During his Berlin talks, Olmert will brief Merkel on peace negotiations he opened with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after a U.S.-led conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November.

"Germany and the European Union will do everything in their power to support the peace process ... Our goal is that a secure and stable Israel and a Palestinian state can live as neighbors in the region in peace and freedom," Merkel said on Saturday.