LONDON, Feb 16: Iran is only six months away from having the knowledge to build a nuclear bomb, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said on Wednesday during a visit to London.

"They are trying very hard to develop this nuclear bomb," Mr Shalom told reporters at a briefing in the British capital. "It is very important, because the question is not if the Iranians develop a nuclear bomb in 2009, 2010 or 2011," he said.

"The main question is, are they going to develop the knowledge to do it? We believe that in six months from today they are going to end all the tests and experiments they are doing in order to have that knowledge."

Iran's nuclear programme was a problem that must be tackled by the entire world, said Mr Shalom, who arrived in London from Paris on Tuesday. "Terrorism and Iran were Israel's problem for a very long time," he said.

"But I believe we realise now that it is not only our problem. Terrorism can hit everywhere and against everyone." Mr Shalom's remarks contradicted those made by Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is seeking to examine Iran's nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is purely for civilian energy purposes.

"On Iran, there really hasn't been much development, neither as a result of our inspections or as a result of intelligence," Mr ElBaradei told Wednesday's edition of the Washington Post newspaper.

The European Union is engaged in talks with Iran over the issue, but these have been deadlocked by Tehran's refusal to permanently end uranium enrichment, which the United States claims Tehran wants to use to make atomic weapons.

In November, Iran suspended enrichment, but says it will resume this if talks with the EU negotiators Britain, France and Germany fail to progress. Mr Shalom said that Tehran should face the threat of United Nations sanctions if it did not fall into line. -AFP