Obama says US, Israel 'in lockstep' to prevent Iran from becoming nuke power

Baltimore Star (ANI) Monday 6th February, 2012

US President Barack Obama has said that Washington is working closely with Israel to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

Obama told NBC that the aim was to resolve the crisis diplomatically, but added that no option was off the table.

"I've been very clear - we're going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and creating a nuclear arms race in a volatile region," Obama said in a live interview.

According to The BBC, he said Washington was working "in lockstep" with Israel, which was right to be very concerned about Iran's controversial activities.

The US and Israel suspect that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. Iran, however, maintains that its programmes are for peaceful purposes.

According to the report, when asked if he believed Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran, Obama said that "he doesn't think Israel has made a decision on what they need to do."

Obama declined to answer directly when asked whether Washington would be consulted first, saying only that the US and Israel "have closer military and intelligence consultation than they ever had".

He also said there was no evidence that the Iranians had "intentions or capabilities" to strike US targets in retaliation. (ANI)