The threat of a nuclear Iran is the biggest issue facing Israel, says Marcus Sheff, executive director of The Israel Project.

TIP is an international organisation that educates the press and the public about Israel. British-born Mr Sheff, 45, leads TIP's Israel team. He tells People: "Iran is speeding up its nuclear build-up and that is without a doubt the biggest story in Israel at the moment. We have to take them seriously. The Olmert story has moved on and the talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians are also becoming more of a dominant story. The situation in Gaza is quiet and tense, but the biggest story is Iran."

Is it hard not to be biased when dealing with journalists? "It's very easy to be balanced," he says. "All the information we get is sourced and honest." A former editor at the Jerusalem Post and political reporter for the The Nation, Mr Sheff was in London this week with Prime Minister Gordon Brown's pollster Dr Stanley Greenberg, who was presenting research conducted by TIP on Israel's national security interests. Mr Sheff acknowledges that journalists who arrive in Israel for the first time have misconceptions about the country. "Some think the security fence is a wall," he said.

Mr Sheff regularly meets leaders from the President and the Prime Minister to cabinet ministers to discuss strategic communications issues. The most impressive person he has met? Shimon Peres. "He has been a driving force behind many things central to Israel's existence. Even now, in his mid-80s, he is looking forward." Born in Manchester, Mr Sheff made aliyah in 1986.