New Delhi: Israel today came out in support of Indo-US civil nuclear deal but demanded outlining of a criteria for such initiatives as some countries could use it for military purposes. "Some critics have been saying Israel is against the America-India nuclear agreement. But we are not at all against the agreement," the Head of Israel's National Security Council Ilan Mizrahi said here.

He, however, cautioned against extending civil nuclear technology to every energy-starved country as there was a platform to turn civil nuclear into a military one. "This is a problematic thing ... The international community should take care of it," he added. Delivering a lecture on the trends and challenges in the Middle East, he also spoke about the global race for securing energy sources and envisaged the possibility of terror outfits like Al-Qaeda making oil and gas installations their prime targets.

Referring to Iran's nuclear programme, Mizrahi said it would lead to destabilisation in the Middle-East and set off a nuclear arms race in the region. He sought more stringent financial sanctions against Iran saying the present UN-imposed curbs are not enough to force Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and spoke about the need for keeping the military option against Iran open.

"The present sanctions will not force Iran to stop its journey towards attaining nuclear military capability," he said. The prime issue in the Middle-East now is not Isreal- Palestine conflict but Iran, its ambition to become a hegemonistic power in the region and its support to terror, he said.

Source : PTI