JERUSALEM, June 14 (UPI) -- The re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could further destabilize the Middle East, Israel's top diplomat said Sunday.
CNN reported that Israel's foreign minister said the election represented "an intensification of the Iranian threat," and called for redoubled international efforts to pressure Tehran to jettison its nuclear program.
"After Ahmadinejad's re-election, the international community must continue to act uncompromisingly to prevent the nuclearization of Iran, and to halt its activity in support of terror organizations and undermining stability in the Middle East," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.
But even if Ahmadinejad's reformist rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi, had been declared the winner of Friday's elections, Iran would still pose an international threat in the eyes of Israeli officials.
"Israel had no illusions regarding the elections, as on these two issues there was no substantial difference between the candidates," said Lieberman's deputy, Danny Ayalon.
The White House issued a statement Saturday, saying it was watching reports of election irregularities.
"We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran but we, like the rest of the world, are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in the statement.
