Don’t allow Iran to ‘play victim’, warns Obama

US President Barack Obama has warned that a premature attack on Iran would allow it to play the “victim” in the nuclear crisis just days before key talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. In some of his toughest comments yet on Tehran’s nuclear drive, Obama also warned that Israel and Iran should take seriously possible US action against Iranian nuclear facilities if sanctions fail to stop the country’s atomic ambitions. “I think that the Israeli government recognises that, as president of the United States, I don’t bluff,” Obama told the Atlantic Monthly magazine in remarks published yesterday. “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 recognise that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say.” Netanyahu arrived in Canada early yesterday ahead of key discussions on Monday with Obama at the White House, against a backdrop of growing fears that Israel could unilaterally strike suspect Iranian nuclear facilities. 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 has maintained that all options remain on the table with regard to action on Iran, whose firebrand leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned Israel’s right to exist. But Obama issued a blunt warning against a premature strike, saying it 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. Obama said the US strategy to thwart Iran’s ambitions of developing a nuclear weapon included various components, including isolating Tehran politically, sanctions and diplomacy. “And it includes a military component. And I think people understand that,” Obama said, adding he thought Americans did not believe that “I hesitate to make decisions as commander in chief when necessary.” 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. Experts in Israel say Netanyahu’s discussions with Obama will be a chance for the allies to sound each other out on their sometimes divergent positions on Tehran’s nuclear program. Israeli President Shimon Peres told the New York Times on 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. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman said yesterday: “We are still waiting. We want to believe that the international community will be able to handle this threat... But again we keep all options on the table.” He was asked about the possibility of a strike on Iran. “Our expectation from the international community is to take all necessary steps to stop the Iranian aggressive foreign policy, including its nuclear ambitions,” Lieberman said. “The sanctions are a right step in the right direction but despite the sanctions we do not see any readiness from the Iranian regime to give up their nuclear ambitions,” Lieberman said.