( CNN ) -- Israel 's top general said Iran is led by `` very rational people '' and does n't appear poised to build a nuclear bomb that would threaten his nation . Iran `` is going step by step to the place where it will be able to decide whether to manufacture a nuclear bomb , '' Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz told Israel 's Haaretz newspaper in Wednesday editions . `` It has n't yet decided whether to go the extra mile . '' The head of Israeli Defense Forces set a different tone than that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , who suggested to CNN on Tuesday that time is running out for Western sanctions on Iran to have a meaningful effect on Tehran 's nuclear program . The sanctions `` are certainly taking a bite out of the Iranian economy , '' Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Tuesday on CNN 's `` OutFront . '' But `` they have n't rolled back the Iranian program -- or even stopped it -- by one iota . '' `` I hope that changes , but so far , I can tell you , the centrifuges are spinning , '' he said . `` They were spinning before the talks began recently with Iran , they were spinning during the talks , they 're spinning as we speak . '' See more on the Netanyahu interview . Key world powers met with Iran earlier this month about Tehran 's intentions for its nuclear program and announced that the next meeting would take place in late May . Iran maintains it is not planning to build a bomb . Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , according to Gantz , likely wo n't build a bomb if he believes his facilities are vulnerable to Israeli attack . `` I think the Iranian leadership is composed of very rational people , '' Gantz told Haaretz . `` But I agree that such a capability , in the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who at particular moments could make different calculations , is dangerous . '' The chief of staff said the military is preparing for all possible scenarios . The United States and European nations have imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran in an effort to pressure it into accepting international demands to restrict its nuclear program . `` If the sanctions are going to work , they better work soon , '' Netanyahu said on CNN . Iran insists that its nuclear program is for energy and medical purposes . U.N. and Western leaders suspect it of having military aims , including a possible nuclear weapon . Last month , the International Atomic Energy Agency , the U.N. nuclear watchdog , noted what it called a sharp and troubling increase in Iran 's uranium enrichment capabilities . The talks with Tehran this month involved the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States , France , Russia , China , and Britain -- as well as Germany . That group has spearheaded diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to rein in its nuclear program , but Israel has criticized the initiative as giving too much ground to Tehran and demanded that it stop all enrichment activities . Netanyahu said that if the combination of sanctions , diplomacy and `` other pressures '' succeeds in stopping Iran 's nuclear program , `` I will be the happiest person in the world . ''
Israel 's top general says Iranian leaders are `` very rational '' and that they have the capability to make a nuclear bomb. Sanctions have not rolled back Iran 's nuclear program , Netanyahu says .