Israel wants Iran ousted from UN

Israel has called for Iran's expulsion from the United Nations for its calls to wipe out the Jewish state from the world map and expressed fears over the "nuclear threat" posed by Tehran.

Imposing moral sanctions on Iran, including its expulsion from the UN, were no less important than taking economic measures against it, President Shimon Peres said shortly after meeting visiting US Vice-President Joe Biden.

"A person like (Iranian President) Ahmadinejad, who calls openly to destroy the state of Israel, cannot be a full member of the United Nations," he said.

The Nobel laureate asked world leaders to "isolate" Ahmadinejad saying, "A man who calls for acts of terror and hangs people in the street...should be placed in his proper definition. He cannot go around almost like a cultural hero."

Peres also asked Washington to "surround Iran with an envelope" to protect Israel against Tehran's "missiles and nuclear threat".

"We have trust in President Obama," he said, but added when it comes to Iran's contentious nuclear programme, "Nobody knows exactly what they are doing".

Biden told the Israeli leader that the Iranian regime is "isolated more than ever before", both domestically and internationally, and that Iranian people are imposing what he called "moral sanctions against it".

He noted that "the bond between the US and Israel is unshakable".