Romney talks tough on Iran

HERZLIYA, Israel -- Mitt Romney, making a passionate appeal to pro-Israel voters, declared at a major conference on Israeli security yesterday that the United States must keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb, and he's helping a former Israeli prime minister lobby Massachusetts to divest pension funds from companies that do business with the country.

"Iran must be stopped and can be stopped," Romney said to a standing ovation at the Herzliya Conference, an annual gathering of leading Israeli and American political figures and security specialists.

Romney's short, forceful address came on a four-day trip to Israel this week, a visit that serves two important political objectives: It further deepens his foreign policy resume and helps him strengthen ties to American Jews, a group of voters and donors the GOP believes is increasingly integral to the party.

"When you take time in the middle of a busy campaign to go abroad, the place you pick to go is a powerful statement of who you are and what you believe," said Ari Fleischer, President Bush's former press secretary and a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, which sponsored Romney's visit.

Meanwhile yesterday, in a meeting set up by Romney, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the State House to ask Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill to divest Massachusetts' $46 billion pension fund from companies that do business with Iran. Cahill said he would examine the idea. However, any divestment would have to be approved by the Legislature.

Netanyahu, now leader of the Likud party, said he talked with Romney about the Iranian nuclear threat extensively over dinner in Jerusalem Monday night. Their relationship dates back to the late 1970s, when the two worked together at Boston Consulting Group . Romney called Cahill to set up the meeting.

Netanyahu said he is hoping to persuade governments across the world to exert economic pressure as a way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, which he estimated could happen in three years.

Over the past year, Romney has responded to questions about his lack of foreign affairs experience by making high-profile trips to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the US detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He also spent a week in December touring China, Japan, and South Korea, a part of the world he argues poses the greatest economic threat to America.

But the Israel trip gives Romney an opportunity to experience close-up the mounting geopolitical challenges the United States faces in the Middle East, including the enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the regional implications of the Iraq war, and Iran's nuclear ambitions. (Iran contends it is developing a nuclear program for energy, not weapons.)

Romney also met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and toured the country's borders with Gaza and Lebanon.

In his speech, Romney positioned himself as a foreign policy hawk and outlined a five-point plan on Iran: tighter sanctions, diplomatic isolation, coordination with Arab allies, threat of a military response if Iran goes nuclear, and a global campaign against "radical Islam."

"Jihadism -- violent, radical fundamentalism -- has emerged as this century's nightmare," Romney said.

Richard Perle, former head of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board and a vocal advocate for military action to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, said voters should expect to hear a lot of hawkish foreign policy speeches from presidential contenders.

"They'll all sound like Romney," said Perle, now at the American Enterprise Institute. "They'll all talk tough about Iran."

Two other men who are considered possible Republican presidential candidates, Arizona Senator John McCain and former House speaker Newt Gingrich, addressed the policy conference yesterday by satellite.

Stops in Israel have become standard fare for US presidential hopefuls, but Republicans are increasingly looking to capitalize on a more receptive Jewish electorate. Though Democrats still receive far more votes overall, the GOP has made a concerted effort to raise money and support from the Jewish community. Romney has also made visible attempts to show his support for Israel and for the Jewish community.

Cambanis reported from Herzliya, and Helman from Boston. Lisa Wangsness of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Cambanis can be reached at tcambanis@globe.com; Helman can be reached at shelman@globe .com.