Obama warns Iran as he seeks to reassure Israel ahead of crucial talks

In advance of meeting with Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu, Obama said he hopes Israel understands 'I don't bluff' on Iran

Obama warns Iran as he seeks to reassure Israel ahead of crucial talks

This article was published on guardian co u! at "# $% &MT on 'riday ( March ($"( It was last modified at "# (# &MT on 'riday ( March ($"( President Barac! Obama and Israeli prime minister Ben)amin Netanyahu in the Oval Office in ($"$ Photograph* &etty Images Barac! Obama has warned Iran that he is not bluffing when he says that the +, will use force if necessary to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon But the president also cautioned Israel that an attac! on Iran would not provide a long-term solution to the crisis Obama sought to reassure the .ewish state that he /has its bac!/ ahead of a meeting on Monday with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is e0pected to urge the president to ma!e an e0plicit threat of military action if Tehran's nuclear programme advances beyond specified /red lines/ /I thin! that the Israeli government recognises that, as president of the +nited ,tates, I don't bluff,/ Obama told the 1tlantic /I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising e0actly what our intentions are But I thin! both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognise that when the +nited ,tates says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say / Obama said that he has a /profound preference for peace over war/ but that does not mean he is unwilling to use force when he believes /it is in the core national interest of the +nited ,tates/ 2e said that the /military component/ is a final option in dealing with Iran but added he would try to persuade Netanyahu that the long term solution is to convince Tehran that developing nuclear weapons is not in its own interests /Our argument is going to be that it is important for us to see if we can solve this thing permanently, as opposed to temporarily and the only way historically that a country has ultimately decided not to get nuclear weapons without constant military intervention has been when they themselves ta!e 3nuclear weapons4 off the table That's what happened in 5ibya, that's what happened in ,outh 1frica,/ he said

The 6hite 2ouse is loo!ing to sanctions and what is e0pected to be a new round of tal!s between Tehran and the ma)or powers in the coming wee!s to pressure Iran But Netanyahu on 'riday warned that the international community should not fall in to the /trap/ of negotiating while Iran continues its /relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons/ /7ight now, Iran is feeling the pressure from the economic sanctions, and it could try to evade that pressure by entering tal!s,/ he said in 8anada /I thin! the international community should not fall into this trap I thin! the demands on Iran should be clear* dismantle the underground nuclear facility in 9om, stop enrichment inside Iran and get all the enriched material out of Iran 1nd when I say all the material, I mean all the material / Netanyahu said that the .ewish state will act against Iran if it feels endangered /1s for Israel, li!e any sovereign country, we reserve the right to defend ourselves against a country that calls and wor!s for our destruction,/ he said The president said that sanctions are causing Iran a /world of hurt/ and described the +, campaign to unite the world against Tehran as /successful beyond most people's e0pectations/ /+ltimately, the Israeli prime minister and the defence minister and others in the government have to ma!e their decisions about what they thin! is best for Israel's security, and I don't presume to tell them what is best for them,/ he said /But as Israel's closest friend and ally, and as one that has devoted the last three years to ma!ing sure that Israel has additional security capabilities, and has wor!ed to manage a series of difficult problems and :uestions over the past three years, I do point out to them that we have a sanctions architecture that is far more effective than anybody anticipated; that we have a world that is about as united as you get behind the sanctions; that our assessment, which is shared by the Israelis, is that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is not yet in a position to obtain a nuclear weapon without us having a pretty long lead time in which we will !now that they are ma!ing that attempt / Israel :uestions Obama's assertion that there is still plenty of time to give sanctions to wor! The defence minister, <hud Bara!, has said that the immediate danger is not that Iran is building a nuclear weapon but that it is constructing the means to do so in underground fortified facilities that will soon be beyond the reach of an Israeli attac! 'or that reason, Israeli officials say Netanyahu is loo!ing for firm guarantees from Obama that the +, will be prepared to ta!e military action against Iran's nuclear programme if it advances beyond specified mar!ers Israel's president, ,himon Peres, ac!nowledged in an interview with the New =or! Times that there is disagreement with the 6hite 2ouse over where to draw the /red line/ that would set off military intervention Peres said that Israel needs /a total and clear commitment that the catastrophe of Iran will not create an impossible situation/

/=ou have to be decisive,/ he said /=ou have to ma!e a choice / The New =or! Times said that Peres, who will meet Obama on ,unday, suggested that if the 6hite 2ouse was not resolute, Israel might have to launch a unilateral attac! against Iran /This is an unavoidable situation,/ he said /It's not e0actly the Na>i situation, but my &od, what a catastrophe / But while the +, president was publicly !een to reassure Israel, he stood by his insistence that pressuring Iran in to agreeing not to develop nuclear weapons is ultimately a better guarantor of the .ewish state's security than military action 2e also warned that an attac! could turn world opinion in favour of Iran /1t a time when there is not a lot of sympathy for Iran and its only real ally 3,yria4 is on the ropes, do we want a distraction in which suddenly Iran can portray itself as a victim?/ he said Obama said he is not loo!ing to Iran to /!nuc!le under to us/ /6hat it does re:uire is for them to actually show to the world that there is consistency between their actions and their statements 1nd that's something they should be able to do without losing face,/ he said Netanyahu is travelling to 6ashington to address the annual meeting of the influential pro-Israel lobby group, the 1merican Israel Public 1ffairs 8ommittee @1ipacA Obama will also spea! to the group on ,unday where he can be e0pected to try and reassure a sceptical audience amid accusations from 7epublicans and some of Israel's more belligerent supporters that he is too soft on Iran and anti-Israel for having pressured Netanyahu on issues such as continued construction of .ewish settlements in the occupied territories Obama e0pressed frustration at the charges, saying they are politically motivated /<very single commitment I have made to the state of Israel and its security, I have !ept,/ he said /6hy is it that despite me never failing to support Israel on every single problem that they've had over the last three years, that there are still :uestions about that? /If you have a set of political actors who want to see if they can drive a wedge not between the +nited ,tates and Israel, but between Barac! Obama and a .ewish 1merican vote that has historically been very supportive of his candidacy, then it's good to try to fan doubts and raise :uestions But when you loo! at the record, there's no 'there' there / 1ipac has been at the forefront of warnings in 6ashington, publishing a position paper that warns /time is running out to prevent Iran from obtaining sufficient :uantities of higher enriched uranium to facilitate a :uic! brea!out to produce a nuclear weapon/ It has said that Iran could produce a large enough stoc!pile of uranium by the end of the year to build a bomb

Obama denied he has a /dysfunctional relationship/ with Netanyahu 2e said that Israel's leadership ac!nowledges that /we've never had closer military and intelligence cooperation/ /6hat I thin! is absolutely true is that the prime minister and I come out of different political traditions This is one of the few times in the history of +,-Israeli relations where you have a government from the right in Israel at the same time you have a center-left government in the +nited ,tates, and so I thin! what happens then is that a lot of political interpretations of our relationship get pro)ected onto this,/ he said /But one thing that I have found in wor!ing with Prime Minister Netanyahu is that we can be very fran! with each other, very blunt with each other, very honest with each other 'or the most part, when we have differences, they are tactical and not strategic /