Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday called on the world to impose sanctions to stop what he called Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Netanyahu, chairman of the right-wing opposition Likud party, suggested at a conference at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Herzliya, a city near Tel Aviv that "voluntary sanctions" could be initiated separately from the UN measures against Iran.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1737, adopted unanimously on Dec. 23, 2006, demanded that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and developments on all heavy water-related projects."

The resolution also called on all states to impose a ban on trade with Iran in goods related to its nuclear programs and ballistic missile delivery systems.

"I want to call on the world, the world that didn't stop the Holocaust last time, to stop any attempt at a future one this time, " Netanyahu told the conference.

Israel considers Iran its most serious threat. It dismisses Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is designed solely to produce energy and is worried by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls to "wipe the Jewish state off the map. "

Ahmadinejad had also sparked international outcry by calling the killing of six million Jews in World War II a "myth."

Netanyahu has been affirming an aggressive stance against Iran among Israeli officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has not ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear sites, but has said he hoped other ways could be found to keep Tehran from becoming a nuclear power.

Source: Xinhua