NEW YORK, 28 September 2021, (TON): Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Iran had crossed "all red lines" in its nuclear programme and vowed that Israel would not allow Tehran to acquire a nuclear weapon.

In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Bennett said Iran sought to dominate the Middle East under a "nuclear umbrella" and urged a more concerted international effort to halt Iran's nuclear activities.

But he also hinted at the potential for Israel to act on its own against Iran, something it has repeatedly threatened in the past.

Bennett said "Iran's nuclear programme has hit a watershed moment, and so has our tolerance. Words do not stop centrifuges from spinning. Israel will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon."

Bennett, a far-right politician who ended Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year run as prime minister in June, wants US President Joe Biden to harden his stance against Iran, Israel's regional arch-foe.

He opposes the new US administration's efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Biden's White House predecessor, Donald Trump, abandoned in 2018.

Indirect US-Iran talks in Vienna have stalled as Washington awaits the next move by Iran's new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi.