"Israel will not target Iran's nuclear facilities because it has said this is a problem of the entire world," the official told AFP. "Israel understands that the only way to defuse the nuclear crisis is through diplomatic channels."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will meet United States President George W. Bush in Washington next week for talks which are expected to focus on Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Israel -- widely considered the Middle East's sole, if undeclared nuclear weapons power -- considers Iran its chief foe, pointing to calls from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe the Jewish state off the map.

Iran denies it is seeking to develop an atomic weapon and insists its nuclear programme is purely to generate electricity.

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