Israel's defense minister urged the world to apply "paralyzing" sanctions on Iran's energy sector and leadership, but didn't comment about whether his country is ready to strike Tehran to cripple its alleged efforts to make nuclear arms.

Ehud Barak also described the Arab Spring that has swept regional despots from power in the Mideast and Africa as an "extremely moving" manifestation of mass striving for democracy, and he predicted that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be toppled within weeks.

Barak spoke on the final day of the three-day World Policy Conference in Vienna, which also showed that relations between Turkey and Israel remain strained following last year's Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed eight Turkish citizens and a Turkish-American.

The annual conference aims to bring together policy makers from different sectors to debate some of the world's more pressing concerns and attempt to advance solutions.

Regarding Assad's clique, Barak said during a question-and-answer session at the conference, "The falling down of this family is a blessing for the Middle East."

He said he expects Syria's relatively secular society to remain that way in any post-Assad scenario. At the same time, Barak said the Mideast turmoil over the short term could result in more influence for Islamic radicals, which would be "quite disturbing for the region," AP reported.