London (PTI): British intelligence service MI6 will soon hold talks with its Israeli counterpart, Mossad, on Iran's perceived nuclear threat, a media report said on Sunday.

Without revealing its sources, 'The Sunday Times' reported that the head of MI6 Sir John Scarlett would visit Israel later this month to hold a "strategic dialogue" with Mossad chief Meir Dagan.

Scarlett is likely to be briefed by Dagan on Israel's latest information about Iran's nuclear programme as Mossad has recently made a breakthrough in intelligence gathering in Tehran, the report said.

There is mounting concern in Israel that Iran's nuclear capability may be far more advanced than estimated by the US National Intelligence Estimate last December, which concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons development programme in 2003 in response to international pressure.

One source told the British newspaper that the new information was on a par with intelligence that led Israel to discover and then destroy a partly constructed nuclear reactor in Syria last September.

Moreover, the MI6 head's visit may build a foundation for diplomatic support in London as well as in Washington if Israel considers military action against Iran over its nuclear programme.

"We're doing a lot of things about Iran. We say we shouldn't rule out any option. Not ruling out options means action, but the worst thing to do at the moment is to talk (about its)," Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak had said last week.