JERUSALEM, 6 December 2005 — Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in remarks published yesterday that he would support a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear program, the first time an Israeli leader has openly called for military action against the republic.

Netanyahu’s comments, made in the heat of a campaign for leadership of the hard-line Likud Party, drew criticism from rivals, who accused him of playing politics with the country’s security.

Israeli leaders have repeatedly identified Iran as the biggest threat to Israel and dismissed Tehran’s claim that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes. Iran’s announcement yesterday that it plans to build a second nuclear power plant is likely to heighten the Israeli concerns.

Although Netanyahu is considered a long shot for the prime minister’s post, his remarks threatened to escalate growing tensions with Iran and signaled the Iranian nuclear program will be an important campaign issue ahead of Israel’s March 28 general election.

Netanyahu said Israel should follow the example of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who ordered an airstrike on an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981. “I will continue the tradition established by Menachem Begin, who did not allow Iraq to develop such a nuclear threat against Israel, and by a daring and courageous act gave us two decades of tranquility,” Netanyahu told the Maariv daily. “I believe that this is what Israel has to do.” Netanyahu said the Iranian program “is a genuine threat to the very existence of Israel,” adding “Iran cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear threat against Israel.”

He said he would support Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a bitter political enemy, if he were to carry out a pre-emptive strike. “If it is not done by the present government I intend to lead the next government and to stop this threat. I will take every step required to avoid a situation in which Iran can threaten us with nuclear weapons.”

Netanyahu’s spokesman was not immediately available to confirm the comments. But similar remarks were reported in other Israeli newspapers as well yesterday.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, a rival in the Likud race, called Netanyahu’s comments irresponsible. “These inflammatory statements endanger the very security of Israel,” Mofaz told Maariv. “The nuclear issue has to be taken out of the election campaign.”

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, another Likud contender, called on the international community to refer the Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council. “Only there sanctions can be imposed, and only there can we block the Iranian attempt to develop nuclear weapons.”

Sharon says the world must not acquiesce to a nuclear Iran, but has said diplomacy remains the first line of defense. Sharon has not said what should be done if diplomacy fails, though some officials have hinted that military action is an option.

Experts say a unilateral military strike against Iran would be extremely difficult. In contrast to the Iraqi reactor, Iran’s nuclear installations are spread out throughout the country. Still, tensions have been rising since Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said in October that Israel must be “wiped off the map.”

Israel’s concerns were compounded by reports last week that Russia is selling Iran missiles and other defense systems.

On Friday, Israel successfully tested its Arrow missile defense system, shooting down a missile similar to Iran’s Shahab-3, which potentially could be equipped with a nuclear warhead to reach Israel.

While Iran has frozen its enrichment program, it restarted uranium conversion — a step toward enrichment — in August. Enrichment is a process that can produce fuel for either nuclear reactors or atomic bombs.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has warned Iran that its nuclear program could be referred to the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions on the country.

In Tehran, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator reiterated yesterday that Tehran would not give up its nuclear fuel ambitions, dismissing a proposal for the country to conduct sensitive enrichment work abroad.

Ali Larijani nevertheless said Iran would give a chance for negotiations ease suspicions of a nuclear weapons drive before ending a freeze on uranium enrichment — which makes reactor fuel but can be extended to military purposes.

“Very certainly, enrichment will take place in Iran, but for confidence building we decided on negotiations,” Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told a news conference.

But Larijani said enrichment “is not something that a country invests in and then transfers it. We don’t see the need for such a thing. What can be done in a few years we can do right now. It is not proper and not politically reasonable.”

And arch-enemy Israel, he warned, would face “heavy consequences” if it decided to attack.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also said Iran’s response to such an attack would be “devastating and unbearable.”

In Moscow, Russia confirmed yesterday plans to sell Iran sophisticated air defense missile systems but said the deal, which has drawn criticism from the United States and Israel, was legal and would not upset the balance of power in the Middle East.

“A contract for delivery to Iran of TOR air defense missile systems has indeed been signed,” local news agencies quoted Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as saying after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“It in no way upsets the balance of forces in the region,” Ivanov said, adding: “Any delivery of weapons by Russia is carried out in the framework of the law and taking account of international obligations.”