JERUSALEM, Israel -- Without a viable military option, Iran, like North Korea, will achieve its nuclear weapons ambitions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told members of the Jewish Agency's international board of governors during a meeting Monday.

Netanyahu said threats by Western countries to intensify sanctions against North Korea did not deter last week's nuclear test.

"Have sanctions, tough sanctions, stopped North Korea? No," Netanyahu said. "And the fact that they produced a nuclear explosion reverberates everywhere in the Middle East and especially in Iran."

"Iran does not conceal its desire to destroy the Jewish state and threaten the rest of the world," he said.

He added that without a "robust, credible military threat" backing up economic sanctions, the Islamic Republic will not be deterred from nuclear armament.

"If they are not, then it will have to be stopped another way," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister said Iran will be at the top of his agenda when President Obama visits Israel next month.

Sign the Christian Coalition Petition to Let Washington Know We Must "Stand with Israel"