No Ifs, Buts or Tricks

"If it does not do this it risks falling deeper into isolation," Merkel said in a speech to the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy. "We are all determined to prevent the threat of an Iran with a military nuclear program," the chancellor said.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani is expected to give a speech to the conference on Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was addressing the meeting on Saturday, while new US Defense Secretary Robert Gates was on Sunday to make his first major speech since succeeding Donald Rumsfeld.

Merkel said the international community "cannot accept the statements from the Iranian president" about Israel, in a reference to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats to wipe Israel off the map.

Iran rejects a UN Security Council resolution of Dec. 23 which imposed limited sanctions to force it to stop enriching uranium.

Behind-the-scenes

Uranium enrichment uses centrifuges to make fuel for civilian nuclear reactors but can also be used to make material for bombs, although Iran denies it is developing nuclear weapons.

Talks on the issue are currently stalled, but European diplomats have told AFP that a European initiative to urge Iran to return to the negotiating table may be presented to Larijani behind the scenes of the Munich conference.

Merkel, whose country currently holds the presidencies of the European Union and the G8, hailed the agreement struck between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to form a national unity government as a "step in the right direction."

"A lot remains to be done. I know that the three conditions must be met, but there was a result in Mecca and we should see it as a first step in the right direction," the chancellor said.

Merkel said it was important that the Saudi-brokered agreement "was a solution from the region."

Following the accord, the Islamist Hamas has come under renewed pressure to fulfill the three conditions set by the international community, namely to renounce violence, recognize the existence of Israel and respect previous accords agreed by Israel and the Palestinians.

Rebuke for Syria

Merkel rebuked Syria for refusing to become involved in the Middle East peace process, but said the "door was not closed" for it to play a constructive role.

But Syria "should have no doubt about the determination of the international community to protect Israel and Lebanon," she said.

In a wide-ranging speech, Merkel said that as the world struggled to resolve conflicts it must remember that climate change "is one of the greatest threats in the short-term, medium-term and long-term." It could potentially have "dramatic consequences," she said.

Merkel said climate change could only be tackled with a joint effort.