Obama says commitment to Israel's security is "sacred"
Cooperation, both military and intelligence-related, with Israel "has never been stronger," the US president maintained in a conversation this Saturday, the 7th, in Washington.
Opera Mundi / EFE News Agency - US President Barack Obama reaffirmed on Saturday (December 7th) that his country's commitment to Israel's security is "sacred" and reiterated his support for a diplomatic solution as the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Cooperation, both military and intelligence-related, with Israel "has never been stronger," Obama argued during a conversation at the Saban Center for the Middle East at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Relations between the US and Israel are currently going through a delicate period following the agreement between Western powers and Iran to temporarily suspend Tehran's nuclear program, which has been strongly criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Obama today reiterated his support for the agreement, although he admitted that the results are uncertain, and stressed that it is not based on "trust" in Iran, but on being able to "verify" whether that country fulfills the agreed commitments.
The president declined to comment on his "Plan B" should the Iran deal fall through, only stating that there are no options, including "military" ones, off the table.
The "best way" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, something that is in the "interest" of both Israel and the US, is with a "comprehensive and verifiable" diplomatic solution, Obama insisted.
Israel, for its part, demands that Iran not be allowed to enrich uranium and that all its centrifuges be dismantled, conditions that were not included in the agreement reached in Geneva between the P5+1 group (comprising the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany) and Tehran.
Regarding peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, Obama indicated that he sees it as "possible" to set a deadline for new talks beyond the nine-month period established in July when dialogue between both sides restarted with the help of US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Kerry is scheduled to speak at this Saban Center forum this Saturday and tomorrow, Sunday (December 8th). Netanyahu will participate via video conference.