By YAAKOV KATZ
Israel retains all options, including military action, to stop Iran's nuclear program, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Tuesday during talks in Prague.
Barak traveled to Prague to speak at the fourth meeting of the Forum 2000, a gathering of world leaders started by former Czech president Václav Havel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel.
Before the forum opened, Barak met with Fischer and Czech Defense Minister Bogdan Klich and called to impose tough sanctions on Iran that would have a time limit.
"Iran is a threat to the entire world and not just Israel," Barak said. "The international community needs to unite together against this threat and recruit countries like Russia, China and India. Israel believes that everything needs to be done to stop Iran from becoming nuclear."
Barak also referred to the Goldstone Report on Operation Cast Lead and said it was "biased and distorted and would encourage terrorism while restricting democracies around the world in fighting terrorism."
He called on the Palestinian leadership to build up the courage to advance the peace process and start negotiations with Israel.
"I do not think that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the source of all the problems in the Middle East, since even if there [were] peace, the Ayatollahs in Teheran would still not recognize Israel's right to exist," Barak said.
On Wednesday, Barak will travel to Poland for talks with the Polish leadership. He will also visit Auschwitz with a group of IDF officers.
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