Despite Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's stepped up rhetoric over Iran's nuclear programme in talks in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin appeared to offer no concrete steps to calm Israeli fears.
"We are at a critical juncture and the entire international community must join ranks to block Iran's true intention of arming itself with nuclear weapons," Olmert said in a statement after talks with Putin in the Kremlin on Wednesday.
"I leave this meeting with the sense that President Putin understands that danger."
But Olmert's declarations to Putin that Iran must be intimidated in order to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear bomb did not seem to steer Putin away from his position that sanctions should not be used against Israel's arch-foe, an observer in Olmert's delegation told AFP.
Olmert described Iran's atomic project -- which Tehran insists is restricted to a civilian power programme -- as "a threat to Israel which we cannot reconcile ourselves to."
Speaking to reporters later on Wednesday, Olmert said he had told Putin that "there was no chance of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons if Iran is not afraid.
"The Iranians should be afraid that something they don't want to happen will occur," he said.
Olmert went on to say that "I made it clear why in my opinion it is important that the Iranians are afraid," but he fell short of mentioning what measures could be taken against the Islamic state.
Furthermore, his declaration in the closing statement that "I told the president that the Iranian question stands at the top of Israel's worries," did not encounter any Russian empathy in return.
Russian president refrained from any direct public reference to Iran on Wednesday, offering only a statement that the struggles against "terror, extremism and nationalist disputes" united the two countries.
Backed by its US ally, Israel says sanctions are necessary following Tehran's failure to suspend uranium enrichment, a process Israel, the United States and several European powers say hides a secret nuclear weapons programme.
Russia is constructing Iran's first civilian nuclear power station at Bushehr and has resisted a push for UN sanctions, arguing these could provoke a regional crisis. Moscow also supplies the Islamic republic with sophisticated conventional weapons and has multi-billion bilateral economic ties with Iran.
In his briefing, Olmert claimed the Russian leadership was deeply attentive to Israel's plight, and that behind closed doors things sounded different.
"I have no doubt that they (the Russians) understand our position and I have no doubt that they are extremely concerned over the possibility," he said.
"There are different levels when we talk on the issue of Iran. Not everything which is said explicitly in public is said in the same way in private," the Israeli premier said.
The Israeli observer told AFP that "Olmert understands and is not trying to stop Russia from developing its interests in Iran and other Muslim countries. When asked by reporters if he requested Putin to stop its nuclear co-operation with Iran, Olmert said that "I don't think the Iranian issues evolves around the question if Russia is helping it directly or indirectly.
"I never claimed that we and the Russians see every nuance in a similar way," he said.
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 and alleged Iranian backing for the Lebanese Hizbullah militia and Palestinian groups.
The Israeli premier offered a Judo outfit with the Russian and Israeli flags printed on its front to his host, who spends much time practising the martial art, an Israeli official told AFP.
"But there is little hope that Russia will fight for Israel's interests against Iran," he said.