US President George W. Bush will meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday for talks set to focus on Iran's nuclear drive amid growing uncertainty over the premier's future.
During the meeting, which comes just three weeks after the president visited the Jewish state to mark its 60th independence day, the two close allies are also expected to discuss the faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
For Olmert, who faces a chorus of calls at home for his resignation over suspicions he unlawfully obtained vast sums of money from a US financier, this may well be his last visit to Washington as premier.
Olmert, 62, suffered two massive blows in quick succession last week when key coalition ally Defense Minister Ehud Barak demanded he quit and the cabinet number two, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, challenged his party leadership.
A high-ranking Israeli diplomat told AFP the White House "was certain" last week that Olmert would not carry out the US trip due to his political woes.
Olmert has denied any wrongdoing, defied the calls to step aside and vowed to continue his duties as usual with his trip to Washington, aimed at dealing with key strategic questions.
On the eve of his meeting with Bush, Olmert said that Iran's quest for nuclear capacity must be stopped "by all possible means," and urged the world to warn Tehran of its devastating repercussions.
"Israel and the United States have long understood the acute danger embodied in a nuclear Iran, and are working closely in a concerted, coordinated effort to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear," Olmert told a conference of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"Israel will not tolerate the possibility of a nuclear Iran, and neither should any other country in the free world," the premier said, in the strongest remarks the Israeli leader has made on the issue.
Israel and its main ally the United States claim that the Islamic republic is using its civilian nuclear programme as a front to conceal development of atomic weapons technology, a claim vehemently denied by Tehran.
Israel's intelligence services say the work could yield an atomic bomb by the end of 2010.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, considers Iran's nuclear plans an existential threat, after repeated calls by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the Jewish state's destruction.
Ahmadinejad reiterated this view on Monday, saying that "the Jewish state is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene."
He also insisted that Tehran's nuclear programme "is legal and transparent. We are not seeking more than our rights."
Bush and Olmert were set to finalize a US military aid package that includes stealth F-35 fighter jets and an advanced missile early warning system, seen as an effort to bolster Israel in the face of the Iran.
Olmert's visit is viewed by many as his farewell from Bush, whose hopes of seeing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before he leaves office in January 2009 appear to be fading fast.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that a deal on the outlines of a Palestinian state can still be reached, but dropped previous remarks that one could be sealed by year-end.
Washington has also been ired by Israel's ongoing Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, where the Palestinians wish to create their future state and capital.
In Israel, not only Olmert's opponents, but defense minister Barak, too, say that the premier cannot make major strategic decisions, including a peace deal with the Palestinians, with a cloud of suspicions hanging over his head.
But Olmert vowed to push on the peace talks, saying at the AIPAC speech that he believes peace with the Palestinians is "truly attainable."
