Jerusalem - Time was running out to stop Iran's nuclear programme, no matter how the current unrest sweeping the country in wake of Friday's disputed election unfolded, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak warned Wednesday.

"We should not be confused about (Mir-Hossein) Moussavi," Barak told Israel Army Radio, noting the Iranian opposition leader and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were both "fundamentalists."

"Iran is in a very dangerous process. One must plan all steps within time frames that are not long. We don't have too much time," he said.

"We have determined for ourselves that we are not removing any options from the table and expect others to do the same," he told the radio station in an interview from Paris.

"One mustn't forget that we are talking about a dictatorial regime of Ayatollas. The more force is being exercised against the protesters who oppose the regime, the less legitimacy does the regime's existence have."

The head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, Meir Dagan, warned before an Israeli parliamentary committee dealing with security and foreign affairs Tuesday that Iran, if not stopped, would have an atom bomb ready for launch by 2014.

Barak pointed at the example of North Korea to bolster his argument that the international community should coordinate and act on time to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

"Today it is much more complicated to deflect North Korea from its nuclear effort compared to several years ago. In the United States, Russia and China, there are not a few people who are asking themselves why we waited so long regarding the threats from Pyongyang."

The Israeli defence minister, of the left-of-centre Labour Party, nonetheless added he believed it was still possible to stop North Korean leader Kim Jong Il from "reaching his goal" - with the "right, coordinated action" by Washington, Moscow and Beijing. (dpa)