Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday that the hour was growing late to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power.    
    
"Shockingly some people are peddling the notion that a nuclear Iran would actually stabilize the Middle East. Yeah right," the prime minister said. "That's like saying a nuclear armed al Qaeda would usher in an era of peace."

Netanyahu's address came one day after Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denounced Israeli leaders as "uncivilized Zionists," and called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Netanyahu noted that world leaders have employed numerous acts of diplomacy and sanctions against Iran, but nothing has stopped the Islamic Republic from working to develop their nuclear program.    

At this point, the prime minister said, the only way to peacefully stop Iran from obtaining atomic weapons is to place a "clear red line" on the program "before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb."

"Before Iran gets to a point where it is a few months away or a few weeks away from amassing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon," Netanyahu added.

"Red lines don't lead to war; red lines prevent war," he said.

The Obama administration has resisted Netanyahu's idea of a clear red line.