Israel's Defense Minister says Israel has no desire to go to war with Iran over its nuclear program but warns that at some point there may be no other option.

Ehud Barak says Israel "would be very glad" if sanctions and diplomacy would lead Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program but that he doesn't think that will happen.

Barak told Israel Radio on Thursday, December 1, that Israel doesn't wish to fight unnecessary wars, but "definitely we might be forced" to act, The Associated Press reported.

Israel, like the West, is convinced Iran is developing a nuclear bomb. It says a nuclear-armed Iran would be an existential threat, citing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's calls for Israel's destruction.