"The attempts of Europe to find a compromise with Iran are interpreted by the Iranian authorities as a sign of weakness and hesitation," the Iranian-born Katsav told reporters.

"Iran is trying to exploit this weakness and hesitation, from Europe in particular, to move closer towards obtaining weapons of mass destruction."

Katsav's comments came ahead of negotiations scheduled for this week between the so-called EU-3 (Britain, France and Germany) and Iran over the nuclear programme which Israel believes is a mask to develop atomic weapons.

Tension between Israel and the regime in Tehran have been steadily growing in recent weeks, with hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad causing uproar in October by calling for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map."

Ahmadinejad also last week dismissed the Nazi Holocaust as a myth and suggested Israel should be moved as far away from the Muslim world as Alaska.

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