Blair said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call Wednesday for Israel to be "wiped off the map" was revolting and unacceptable. "Imagine a state like that... having a nuclear weapon," he added.

The prime minister was speaking at the Hampton Court summit of EU heads of state, discussions at which were somewhat overshadowed by events in Iran.

The Iranian president caused an international uproar when he declared Wednesday that Israel was a "disgraceful blot" and should be "wiped off the map."

Speaking to thousands of students at a "World without Zionism" conference, Ahmadinejad also appeared to threaten Middle Eastern states who sought to improve relations with the Jewish state.

"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury," Iranian state television quoted him as saying. "The Islamic world will not let its historic enemy live in its heartland."

Hours later, Palestinian militants killed at least five Israelis with a bombing in the Israeli town of Hedera. Islamic Jihad, a group linked to Iran, claimed responsibility.

Blair warned Iran that action would be taken if it continued down its current path.

"There are people in Iran, in the leadership, who believe that the world is sufficiently distracted with everything else that we can't really afford the time to focus on this issue.

"I think they will be making a very big mistake if they do that.

"These sentiments are completely and totally unacceptable," he said, adding that he had never come across a situation where a president of a country had said he wanted to "wipe out" another nation.

"Their attitude towards Israel, their attitude towards terrorism, their attitude on the nuclear weapons issue; it isn't acceptable."

He continued: "Now if they continue down this path, then people are going to believe that they are a real threat to our world stability and security."

Blair said he had felt "a real sense of revulsion" at Ahmadinejad's remarks, which were "completely wrong."

The comments underlined just how much Iran needed "reform" itself, he added.

"How can we build a more secure world with that type of attitude?"

Blair said Britain would hold discussions with key allies over the next few days to decide what action to take.

For a long time, people had been asking him to guarantee that he would not join in military action against Iran, he noted.

If Tehran continued down its current path, people would be asking the question: "When are you going to do something about this?" he said.

"You imagine a state like that, with an attitude like that, having a nuclear weapon."

Iran had to alter its "basic attitude," Blair said; however the fact that attitude was being expressed by the president of the country did not inspire confidence.

Earlier Prime Ministerial Spokesman Tom Kelly confirmed that the Iranian charge d'affaires had been summoned to the Foreign Office Thursday morning.

Asked if there had been any response from Tehran to the government's comments, Blair said that as far as he was aware, there had not been.

Ahmadinejad's comments are likely to confirm international fears the recently elected president is reverting to a hard-line foreign policy reminiscent of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.

Indeed he made specific reference to Khomeini's policy towards Israel during his address, saying it was the wish of "the imam" that Israel be destroyed.

Israel responded by calling for Iran to be expelled from the United Nations.

"A country calling for the destruction of another people cannot be a member of the U.N.," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said.

The comments were condemned by nations across the globe, including the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia and all EU states.

European heads of state at the Hampton Court summit issued a statement that calls for violence and the destruction of any state were "manifestly inconsistent with any claim to be a mature and responsible member of the international community."

The White House said the remarks underscored U.S. concerns that Iran's nuclear intentions -- over which it has been referred to the U.N. Security Council -- were not peaceful.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country has been supplying Iran with nuclear technology, said that those who insisted on transferring the Iranian nuclear dossier to the Security Council had received an "additional argument" for doing so.

The sentiment in Iran appeared to be that this was the reason for the West's complaints.

A commentary on Iranian state radio said that there was nothing new about what Ahmadinejad had said.

The West had overreacted because it wanted to smear Iran's image and bolster the case for U.N. action, it complained.

A statement from the Iranian foreign ministry later accused the West of turning a blind eye to Israeli "crimes.

Iran's embassies in the West would officially protest against Europe's attitude to "Zionist crimes," it said.

It is true, as Blair noted, that Iran has long held such views about the existence of the Jewish state.

In 2001, former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani called for a Muslim state to annihilate Israel with a nuclear strike.

However Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon itself.

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