Israeli officials on Tuesday expressed sharp doubts over the outcome of upcoming talks between the P5+1 group and Iran over Teheran's nuclear fuel enrichment program.

"It appears that the Iranians are trying to reach a 'technical agreement' which will create the impression of progress in the talks, in order to remove some of the pressure before the (P5+1) talks Wednesday in Baghdad; as well as to put off the intensification of sanctions," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

The P5+1 group include the United States, China, Britain, France, Russia, and Germany.

Israel, The United Nations, and other Western nations have long accused Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons. Iran, however, denies the accusation and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, such as power generation.

"Israel believes that Iran should be set a clear bar; so that there is no 'window or crack' which the Iranians can (creep) through to advance their military nuclear program," Barak said, in a statement sent to Xinhua, and called on Teheran to "stop enriching uranium, both to 20 percent and to 3.5 percent. In addition, all enriched uranium should be removed from Iran, under the tight protocol, called IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) protocol 3.1."

Barak cautioned the Western states, saying, "It is forbidden to make concessions to Iran. The requirements of the world powers must be clear and unequivocal."

Meanwhile, Yukiya Amano, head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog group IAEA, on Tuesday visited Teheran to hold what he characterized as "frank" preparatory talks.

While he was hopeful about reaching an agreement boosting cooperation between Teheran and the IAEA, Amano didn't divulge any details of what form that cooperation would take.

However, speaking to the local press, a senior Israeli official termed the Iranians, "serial agreement violators," in comment on the prospects of reaching a solution acceptable to the Jewish State.

"We know from past experiences how all these agreements between the IAEA and Iran end. Iran continued to establish uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz under the nose of the international community. The IAEA's last report refers to the military intentions of Iran's nuclear program," he told the Haaretz daily.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday said that "Iran's goals are clear. It wants to annihilate Israel and is developing nuclear weapons to realize this goal."

Speaking at a civil service commission event Monday evening, Netanyahu called on the international community to take a tougher stance on Iran, citing Iran's vocal threat to "wipe Israel off the map."

"Iran threatens Israel, peace and the entire world. Against this malicious intention, the world's leading countries must show determination, not weakness," Netanyahu said.

"The P5+1 group does not need to make concessions to Iran," Netanyahu said. "They need to set clear and unequivocal demands before it: Iran must halt all enrichment of nuclear material. It must remove from its territory all nuclear material that has been enriched up until now and it must dismantle the underground nuclear facility in Qom."

Netanyahu concluded that "Only thus will it be possible to ensure that Iran will not have a nuclear bomb," asserting that " This is Israel's position, it has not changed and it will not change."