Herzliya, Israel (CNSNews.com) - Will the United States attack Iran to prevent it from going nuclear? President Bush might order such an attack, depending on circumstances, a former U.S. government official said on Sunday.

"I think that until the day he leaves office, this is a president that, if he is told, 'Mr. President, you are at the point of no return,' I have very little doubt that this president would order the necessary military action," said Richard Perle, who worked for both the Reagan and Bush administrations.

Perle, a neoconservative who pressed for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, was among the American and Israeli political and security experts attending Irael's seventh annual Herzliya Conference over the weekend.

The gathering focuses on Israel's national security interests.

Perle and other speakers noted that Iran is unlikely to comply with United Nations demands to stop enriching uranium, and that means the international community eventually will have to take strong action to stop Iran from producing a nuclear weapon.

"The current [sanctions] policy...will not lead the Iranians to abandon their nuclear weapons program...If we continue what we are doing, Iran will become a nuclear weapons state," Perle said.

Deterrence is a psychological game, Perle said, and when it fails, it does so "catastrophically."

Perle warned against waiting too long to stop Iran. He mentioned that the U.S. watched al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for years - but did nothing until bin Laden attacked the U.S. He said the U.S. doesn't want to repeat such a mistake.

Perle also noted that Israel, in bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor in 1981, didn't wait until Iraq was about to produce a nuclear weapon. Iraq was still several years away from that point.

Perle advocates regime change in Iran. If the United States does not support the Iranian opposition, it will never come together, he warned.

Ambassador Nicholas Burns, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said there is "no doubt" that Iran wants to obtain nuclear weapons and he also said the U.S. cannot allow that to happen.

Burns said he expects the U.S. to push for tougher sanctions when - as anticipated - Iran refuses a U.N. Security Council request to stop enriching uranium.

Washington is encouraging Russia and China to stop the sale of weapons to Iran, said Burns. It also is encouraging the European Union to cut off the 14 billion Euros designated to stimulate trade with Iran.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the way to deal with Iran is to "delegitimize" the regime.

Netanyahu is leading the effort to bring Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before the World Court where he would be tried for inciting genocide. Among other things, Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

Netanyahu also called for a voluntary economic boycott of companies that do business with Iran.

"I want to call on the world that didn't stop the Holocaust last time to stop any attempt this time," Netanyahu said.

One hundred of the largest pension funds in the West invest in 70 companies that trade with Iran, he explained. Divesting those funds would have an "immense" impact, he said.

Uzi Arad, the chair of the Herzliya Conference, said none of the conference speakers disputed the magnitude of the threat posed by a nuclear Iraq.

The question that remains is who will do what when, he said.

In another development, Iran said its Revolutionary Guards began another round of war-games on Monday. They reportedly plan to test two types of home-made missiles, state radio reported.

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