Incoming Israeli ambassador to Britain, Ron Proser, told Britain's Sunday Telegraph that a military confrontation with Iran will be unavoidable if the Islamic Republic does not start cooperating with the international community over its nuclear program, and stop its hostile rhetoric toward Israel.

Proser, who previously served as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's top advisor on Iran, said Tehran could enrich enough uranium to build an atomic bomb by as early as 2009.

What's more, warned the Israeli, Iran will very soon reach a point where it is no longer dependent on outside sources to maintain and operate its nuclear facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday made his first public response to the recently published US National Intelligence Estimate suggesting that Iran had abandoned its efforts to attain nuclear military power, insisting that Israel would work together with the International Atomic Energy Agency to prove that Iran remains determined to build an atomic bomb.

Mr. Olmert told his cabinet that what is clear is that Iran continues to bolster its long-range missile arsenal and to increase its ability to enrich uranium, two warning signs that should call into question any assessment that says the Islamic Republic is no longer pursuing nuclear arms.