OTTAWA - Israel's former national security adviser, also a seasoned ex-spy, says Stephen Harper has offered an eloquent, perceptive assessment of the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran.

The prime minister has faced criticism in some circles for amplifying the drumbeats of war with Iran for repeatedly saying the regime would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons and that it poses a "grave threat to peace and security."

Harper's assessment is "eloquent," said Uzi Arad, a former national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a member of Mossad, the country's intelligence service, for 22 years prior to that.

"I thought that he, at the same time, took the high moral ground as well as the perceptive strategic view of the matter. This is my humble reaction to the leader of a great nation," Arad told The Canadian Press Thursday.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/harper-eloquent-on-iran-threat-says-former-israeli-security-adviser-and-spy-140212783.html