Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Iran was getting closer to the “red line” he set for its nuclear programme and warned the international community not to be distracted by the crises in Syria and Egypt.

Tehran was continuing enrichment activities and building inter-continental ballistic missiles, which could give it a military nuclear capability, he said on CBS’ Face the Nation.

At the United Nations in September, Netanyahu drew a red line across a cartoon bomb to illustrate the point at which Iran will have amassed enough uranium to fuel one nuclear bomb. He said Iran could reach that threshold by mid-2013.

“They haven’t yet reached it but they’re getting closer to it and they have to be stopped,” Netanyahu told CBS. He said the West’s sanctions against Tehran needed to be intensified and backed up with the threat of a credible military option.

Netanyahu also said Iran was building faster centrifuges that could allow it to speed up its enrichment activities.

It’s important to note that we (Israel) can’t allow it to happen

Israel has issued veiled warnings that it might attack Iran if international sanctions and diplomacy fail to curb its nuclear ambitions.

“I think it’s important to note that we (Israel) can’t allow it to happen. We’re closer than the US, we’re more vulnerable, and therefore we’ll have to address this question of whether to stop Iran before the US does,” Netanyahu said.

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