JERUSALEM - Shaul Mofaz, Israel's Iranian-born deputy premier,
launched a campaign on Tuesday to succeed scandal-struck
Ehud Olmert as prime minister with a vow to put the country's
security at the top of his agenda.
 

Mofaz, 59, who, if elected, would become the country's first
prime minister not born in Europe or in territory now Israel,
announced he would be running in a Sept. 17 leadership contest
being held by the ruling Kadima party.
 

Opinion polls show Mofaz trailing closely behind Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's top peace negotiator with the
Palestinians, though some party loyalists feel Mofaz's military
past could tip the contest in his favour.
 

Mofaz, who declared in June that attacking Iran to stop its
nuclear programme may be "unavoidable", avoided the subject in
his brief address to a cheering Jerusalem crowd, but said
"security must always be at the top of our (Israel's) agenda".
 

"There is nothing I want more than peace," he said, but made
no mention of U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians or
indirect talks under way between Israel and Syria.
 

Israel would seek "a true peace that ensures Israeli
security", Mofaz added, invoking a pledge often used by Israeli
rightists that implies they would resist compromise.
 

"It is convenient at times to delude ourselves temporarily,
especially in relatively quiet times, that security issues are
not urgent or our main concern. I say this is a dangerous
delusion," added Mofaz.
 

Olmert, under police investigation for suspected bribe
taking and filing duplicate travel expenses in a former
government job, touched off political turmoil last week by
vowing to step down once his party chooses a new leader.
 

Olmert has denied any wrongdoing.
 

The winner of the Kadima leadership contest would not
automatically become prime minister, unless he or she can muster
a parliamentary majority, a process that could take months and
leave Olmert in charge as interim prime minister.
 

Analysts say either Livni or Mofaz may fail to form a new
government, and this could trigger an early national election.
The next election is now expected in 2010.
 

Mofaz said "the last thing Israel needs" is an early
election, and he would seek to forge a unity coalition with
right and left-leaning parties, if he won the Kadima vote.
 

As military chief, Mofaz crushed a Palestinian uprising that
erupted when peace talks failed in 2000, sending troops on
frequent raids in occupied territory to raid militant hideouts.
 

Some at his rally were enthused at the prospect of choosing
a non-European prime minister.
 

Yaacov Ravel, a retired telephone worker, also from Iran,
said: "I don't care about what he knows, the main thing is he's
one of ours."