Israel Says Time Has Come to Move Against Iran's Nuclear Program

Israel stepped up the rhetoric against Iran Sunday, as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the time has come to deal with the country and its nuclear program.

Barak declined on the Fareed Zakaria GPS program on CNN to rule out use of military force to halt the country from moving further with its nuclear plans.

He stopped short of saying that Israel is planning an attack on the nation, but he did give a suggestive report on Israel's stance as it stands today.

I don't think that that is a subject for public discussion, he said, according to the Agence France-Presse. But I can tell you that the IAEA report has a sobering impact on many in the world, leaders as well as the publics, and people understand that the time has come.

The report comes on the heels of a Nov. 2 report by the Daily Mail that the United States and Britain are working together to draft a plan to attack Iran as evidence of new nuclear weapons capabilities in the Middle Eastern country arises.

Senior officials in the UK government told the British newspaper that the two countries are working on a joint plan to attack the nation after a report emerged that Iran currently possesses enough enriched uranium for four nuclear weapons.

The report came shortly after news that Israel had successfully test-fired a rocket that has the ability to strike Iran with a nuclear warhead.

A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense declined to confirm the report.

The British government believes that a dual-track strategy of pressure and engagement is the best approach to address the threat from Iran's nuclear program and avoid regional conflict, the spokesman told the Daily Mail. We want a negotiated solution - but all options should be kept on the table.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated that the country's nuclear program is aimed only at peaceful ends such as creating nuclear power, but Israeli leaders are stepping up their calls for military intervention.

US President Barack Obama has stated that Iran's nuclear ambitions remain a threat, but rounds of sanctions against the Middle Eastern state appear to have done little to curb its nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Nov. 8 said there is intelligence that suggests that Iran is undertaking activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device, a revelation that gave fuel to the argument for attacking the country,

Ahmadinejad has threatened to wipe Israel off the map in the past and has promised grave consequences if his nation is attacked.