Obama warns against premature Iran strike
‘As president of the United States, I don’t bluff’:
US: US President Barack Obama warned on Friday against a premature
attack on Iran, while Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his
country had the right to self-defense and needed room to maneuver. But
in an apparent nod to Netanyahu ahead of key White House talks on
Monday, Obama said if sanctions failed to curb Tehran's nuclear
ambitions, US military action against Iranian nuclear facilities should
not be ruled out.
“I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of
the United States, I don't bluff,” Obama told the Atlantic Monthly
magazine in remarks published Friday.
“I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising
exactly what our intentions are. But I think both the Iranian and the
Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is
unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say.” US
strategy included isolating Tehran politically, sanctions and diplomacy,
Obama said.
“And it includes a military component. And I think people understand
that,” he added.
On his way to Washington, Netanyahu arrived Friday in Canada against
a backdrop of fears that Israel could unilaterally strike suspect
Iranian nuclear facilities.
Speaking alongside Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a
visit to parliament in Ottawa, he was careful not to appear to be
pressuring his US ally, while keeping his own options open.
“I have not set red lines and we are not seeking to set red lines to
the United States,” he said in Hebrew. “We do ask to reserve the freedom
of action of the state of Israel in the face of threats to wipe us off
the map. I think that is something that any state would demand for
itself.” Tehran insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes
only but Western nations suspect the Islamic republic is leading a
covert program to develop a nuclear weapons capability and is not far
from achieving its goal.
Netanyahu's government says all its options remain on the table with
regard to action on Iran, whose firebrand leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has
repeatedly questioned Israel's right to exist.
The Israeli leader said that to allay suspicions Iran must dismantle
its underground nuclear facility in Qom, stop uranium enrichment and get
rid of all enriched material in Iran beyond what would allow it to make
medical isotopes or generate nuclear power.
“And when I say all the material, I mean all the material, from 3.5
percent up,” Netanyahu said. Obama warned, however, that a premature
strike could inadvertently help the Iranian regime.
“At a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only
real ally (Syria) is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which
suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?” Obama said.
Even if Israel were not a specific target of Iran's wrath, Obama said
“it would still be a profound national-security interest of the United
States to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.” He also spoke of
the “profound” risks of an Iranian nuclear weapon falling into
terrorists' hands, and warned of “the prospect of a nuclear arms race in
the most volatile region in the world, one that is rife with unstable
governments and sectarian tensions.
“And it would also provide Iran the additional capability to sponsor
and protect its proxies in carrying out terrorist attacks because they
are less fearful of retaliation,” he said.
Israeli President Shimon Peres told the New York Times Thursday that
the United States must make it clear to Iran that “all options are on
the table.” “We need a total and clear commitment that the catastrophe
of Iran will not create an impossible situation,” Peres said,
acknowledging there was disagreement over where to draw the red line
that would spark military action.
AFP |