Netanyahu urges US to pressure Iran, Lebanon [pg. 4]

By NATHAN GUTTMAN
Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu met with US Vice President Dick Cheney and with a group of 15 senators in Washington on Wednesday to discuss Iran and Lebanon. He conveyed a message from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calling on the United States to apply pressure on the government of Lebanon to close its border with Syria in an effort to stop arms transfers to Hizbullah. Netanyahu said he did not discuss internal Israeli politics with members of Congress or the administration, although he was asked about it during his meeting with the senators. The former prime minister said the purpose of his visit was to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat. "I told them that the US must lead the international effort to stop Iran, including by sanctions," he told reporters, adding that he believed a military option should be a part of the pressure put on Iran. Netanyahu stressed that he did not think there would be a need to apply military pressure because UN sanctions would be effective in stopping Iran's nuclear program.