Against the backdrop of mass demonstrations on the streets of Iran, Barak told Army Radio, "Don't get him wrong, he wouldn't have been allowed to run for the Knesset or the Governor of Maryland."
He called on the international community to swiftly act to prevent the Tehran regime from advancing its nuclear program. "Iran is in the midst of a very dangerous process," the defense minister said. "Steps must be planned in advance within a time frame that is not long. We don't have too much time."
"We've resolved not to take any option off the table and we expect others to do the same," Barak told Army Radio.
The former Israeli prime minister said he was "riveted" by the opposition protests on the streets of Tehran against the recent election results. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was officially proclaimed the winner by a whopping 2-to-1 margin, though his main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, claims the results were forged.
"One mustn't forget that we are dealing with a dictatorial regime run by ayatollahs," Barak said. "The more force applied against anti-regime demonstrators, the less legitimacy there is for the existence of the regime."
On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama made first reference to the results of last week's Iranian elections, saying there appeared to be few policy differences between Ahmadinejad Mousavi. "The difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised," he told CNBC.
Also on Tuesday, Mossad chief Meir Dagan told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the riots in Iran over the election results will die out in a few days rather than escalate into a revolution.
"The reality in Iran is not going to change because of the elections. The world and we already know Ahmadinejad. If the reformist candidate Mousavi had won, Israel would have had a more serious problem because it would need to explain to the world the danger of the Iranian threat, since Mousavi is perceived internationally arena as a moderate element ... It is important to remember that he is the one who began Iran's nuclear program when he was prime minister."