Obama: Iran a Year Away From Bomb

Iran is about a year away from developing a nuclear weapon, and the United States remains committed to doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening, President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview aired Thursday in Israel.

Just days before he is to arrive in Israel for his first presidential visit, Obama told Israeli media that while he still prefers diplomacy over force, a nuclear Iran is a “red line” and all options remain on the table to stop it.

“Right now, we think it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously we don’t want to cut it too close,” he said.

“So when I’m consulting with Bibi [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu], as I have over the last several years on this issue, my message to him will be the same as before: If we can resolve it diplomatically, that is a more lasting solution. But if not, I continue to keep all options on the table.”

Obama’s forecast gives more time than that of Netanyahu, who has signaled that the coming months present a point of no return in dealing with Iran.

The American president nonetheless took a stern tone toward Iran in the half-hour-long interview.

“What I have also said is that there is a window, not an infinite period of time, but a window of time where we can resolve this diplomatically, and it is in all of our interests” to do this, he said.

“They [Iran] are not yet at the point, I think, where they have made a fundamental decision to get right with the international community… I do think they are recognizing that there is a severe cost to continue on the path they are on and that there is another door open.”

Obama said that a nuclear Iran would also be “dangerous for the world. It would be dangerous for U.S. national security interests.”

In the interview, Obama also spoke about his relationship with Netanyahu, claiming it is not as tense as reported, and he encouraged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks.

This article appeared in print on page 9 of the March 15th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.