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Obama: Not Much Difference with Israel on Iran Nuclear Assessment

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Dan Robinson

March 20, 2013

JERUSALEM — U.S. President Barack Obama says there is not much difference between U.S. and Israeli assessments of how close Iran is to potentially developing a nuclear weapon.

Speaking alongside Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Wednesday on the first day of a four-day Middle East trip, Obama said he would not expect his host to defer any decisions about military action to another country - even a close ally such as the United States. He repeated the U.S. position that "all options" are on the table for stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but said there is still time to resolve the issue diplomatically.

Israel sees an Iranian nuclear weapon as a threat to its existence due to Tehran's calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Iran insists that its nuclear program is designed only for peaceful research and electricity generation.

Netanyahu said he and Obama have a "common assessment" that it will take Iran about one year to make a nuclear bomb if it decides to do so. He said Iran's continued enrichment of uranium, a key ingredient of such a bomb, is a separate matter.

The Israeli prime minister said he believes that if Iran "gets through" the enrichment process, it will reach an "immunity zone" - a reference to a situation in which military action would not be able to stop it. In a speech to the United Nations last September, Mr. Netanyahu warned that Iran could reach such a "red line" by the middle of this year.

It was not clear if Obama shared the Israeli leader's view of the "immunity zone."

U.S., Israel Hail Alliance

Earlier, Obama and Israeli leaders reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-Israel security relationship.

Obama received a full ceremonial welcome at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, embracing Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, and reviewing a military honor guard.

"Across this region, the winds of change bring both promise and peril. So I see this visit as an opportunity, to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between our nations, to re-state America's unwavering commitment to Israel's security, and to speak directly to the people of Israel and to your neighbors," Obama said, explaining why he made Israel the first stop of the first overseas trip of his second term.

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Netanyahu said the need for the U.S.-Israel alliance is greater than ever amid unpredictable changes in the Middle East, adding Israel continues to seek peace with Palestinians.

"In an unstable and uncertain Middle East, the need for our alliance is greater than ever," he said. "It is the key to thwarting dangers to advancing peace. It's the key to achieve a stable and secure peace that the people of Israel yearn for all our neighbors, and with all our hearts. We seek a peace with our Palestinian neighbors."

U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, right, upon his arrival at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan, March 22, 2013.
Obama tours the Hall of Names during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, March 22, 2013. With him are Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate Avner Shalev and Israeli President Shimon Peres.
President Obama with Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, left, after visiting the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, Israel, March 22, 2013.
Obama shares a laugh with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during an official state dinner hosted by Israel's President Shimon Peres (not pictured) in Jerusalem, March 21, 2013.
Members of the audience listen as President Obama delivers a speech on Mideast policy at the Jerusalem Convention Center, March 21, 2013.
Obama interacts with children as he tours the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, March 22, 2013.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas walks with Obama at the Muqata Presidential Compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah, March 21, 2013.
President Obama lays a wreath at the grave of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at Mt Herzl in Jerusalem March 22, 2013.
Rows of police officers on standby during Obama's visit in the West Bank city of Ramallah, March 21, 2013.
President Obama shakes hands with Israeli children as he is welcomed in Jerusalem, March 20, 2013.
U.S. President Obama, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak with greeters at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, March 20, 2013.
Israeli soldiers walk towards their positions as they prepare for an official ceremony to welcome President Obama at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 20, 2013.
Posters calling for Obama to free Jonathan Pollard from a U.S. prison on display in Jerusalem, March 20, 2013.

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Iron Dome

Obama also inspected a missile battery and other equipment, part of the Iron Dome defense system Israel built with U.S. aid, and has used to shoot down missiles fired from Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Later in Jerusalem, Obama said his talks with Peres focused on shared concerns about Iran's nuclear program and stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

"Today was another opportunity for me to benefit from the president's perspective on a whole range of topics, from the historic changes that are taking place across the region, to the perils of a nuclear-armed Iran, to the imperatives of peace between Israelis and Palestinians to the promise of our digital age," Obama said.

Iran

Peres spoke of what he called a common U.S.-Israeli vision to confront dangers, and spoke about Iran.

"The greatest danger is a nuclear Iran. So you said, so you do. We trust your policy which calls to try by non-military means with a clear statement that both other options remain on the table," he said. "You have made it clear that your intention is not to contain, but to prevent."

Peres reaffirmed Israel's commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict with Palestinians, but called Hamas in Gaza a terrorist organization that continues to target innocent civilians.

The Israeli president said chemical weapons in the hands of the Syrian government cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of terrorist groups, which he said would be an "epic tragedy."

On Thursday, Obama meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

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Comments

by: Vladimir Nazerbayev from: Russia

March 20, 2013 3:25 PM

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Dr. Fritz, Putin is in Israel so much times because virtually all Russian Oligarchs are there. and, Israel has become not only the "silicon Vally" of Europe and Asia but also the hub of CIA FSB integrated think tanks. please to pay attention.

by: NVO from: USA

March 20, 2013 1:57 PM

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Article should read: "Obama, Israeli Leaders Hail lies, smoke&mirrors to deceive the public, media shut up by Rockefellers".

by: NVO from: USa

March 20, 2013 1:10 PM

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Oh, Please!! Obama, you claim to be "Christian", yet you are for gay marriage, and the dividing of the land in Jerusalem. Now is that in agreement with Scripture???? You are a New Ager, NOT a Christian, plain and simple. Scripture says ALL nations will come against Israel, so "eternal" is a joke. Read THE BOOK.

by: Dr. Hans Fritz from: Germany

March 20, 2013 12:50 PM

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the consensus of academicians in Germany is that Obama's visit to Israel has become extremely necessary in view of Putin visiting Israel over a dozen times in just the last three years...

by: david lulasa from: tambua,gimarakwa,hamisi,v

March 20, 2013 9:22 AM

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its a holiday for the people of israel..both jews and palestinians.

by: Rouffian from: Paris, France

March 20, 2013 7:49 AM

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It is a pretty sad waste of time really. Obama knows that he cannot stop Israel's encroachment onto the West Bank or the persecution and mistreatment of the Palestinians. So what use is this trip? It's to show solidarity with a state that has become the new South Africa. Is that really what the President of the USA should be doing? Supporting apartheid and war crimes?

Still, America persists in its deluded belief that having Israel as an ally is good for its interests in the middle east, despite the evidence and the advice of its own analysts.

I remember when Obama offered hope. Now he is peddling apathy and despair.

by: JohnWV from: USA

March 20, 2013 7:21 AM

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Abandoning and aggressively isolating the Jewish state would force it to abandon its existential threats to Iran, continuing horrors wreaked upon Palestine and paranoid pursuit of invulnerability, territorial conquest and racist empire in, and beyond, the Mideast. America would regain financial integrity and stature among nations. There is no greater or kinder support that we could render to the Mideast, and our “inseparable Mideast ally.”

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