October 18, 2007 (LPAC)--While George W. Bush is raving that a nuclear Iran is a threat to the existence of Israel and could lead to World War III, former chief of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, Ephraim Halevy, declared the very opposite.

Declaring that Iran cannot destroy Israel, Halevy said, "We cannot say that the Iranian threat is an existential threat on the State of Israel. I believe that the State of Israel cannot be eliminated. It cannot be destroyed because of things you know and because of things you can imagine'' - the latter an obvious reference to the fact that it is Israel that has nuclear weapons and could pose an existential threat to Iran if the latter were to try to attack it.

Speaking at a conference in Jerusalem on October 17th, Halevy said that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not interested in a nuclear Iran,'' adding that there was a big chance the Iranians would not achieve what they were after.

Talking at an event organized by the Lander Institute in Jerusalem, Halevy said, "all the problems Israel had were not the result of unidentified threats. Iran must be dealt with in two simultaneous ways: They must be pressured through the global economy, and they must be given an opportunity to talk once they change their ways.''

As for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Halevy sarcastically said, "Had he not existed, we would have had to create him. He is doing great things for us.''

Addressing Israel's activity in the face of the Iranian nuclear program, Halevy said, "You should assume that things have been done and things are being done, and assume that the Jewish mind can create amazing things. Iran is a bitter enemy, but this does not mean that it should be an enemy forever. The situation in Iran has not been particularly good over the past year. The economic situation is worsening, there is a 30% inflation, an official unemployment of 25%, and in Tehran the unemployment rate is 50%. Those who elected Ahmadinejad president did not elect him to develop nuclear weapons, but rather to serve as a successful mayor in Tehran.