The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Jerusalem

Visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday said his country would remain at the forefront of efforts to block Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, directly addressing one of Israel's greatest fears.

Speaking to Israel's parliament in the first-ever address there by a British premier, Brown said Iran must either halt its program or face international isolation.

"It is totally abhorrent for the President of Iran to call for Israel to be wiped from the map of the world," Brown said. "The U.K. will continue to lead - with the U.S. and our EU partners - in our determination to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapons program." Israel considers Iran to be its most dangerous enemy. It does not believe Iran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful, and takes seriously Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map.