U.S. force is ‘option’ in Iran

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said for the first time that he does not view “containment” as an option if Iran were to develop a nuclear weapon, warning Iran’s leaders to take seriously the U.S. threat to use military force.

The comments in a magazine interview released Friday were part of an effort to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. “has Israel’s back,” and there is no need to rush toward airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Obama is scheduled to meet Netanyahu on Monday.

Obama’s language also seemed intended to quiet worries among Israel’s supporters on Capitol Hill about Washington’s willingness to use force if necessary.

His statement, referring to force as an “option,” stopped short of saying that an attack would be automatic if Iran decides to build a bomb, as some hawks on the issue have urged. But by publicly ruling out containment – a strategy of tolerating a nuclear-armed Iran but aiming to restrain its actions – it left few non-military options if diplomacy fails.

“As president of the United States, I don’t bluff,” Obama said in the interview with Atlantic magazine journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, a Middle East expert. “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 recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say.

“Preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon isn’t just in the interest of Israel, it is profoundly in the security interests of the United States,” Obama said. “When I say we’re not taking any option off the table, we mean it.”

A containment strategy would not work because of the danger of nuclear arms spreading throughout the region, Obama said. That would threaten not only the security of Israel, but also that of the United States and Europe.

“If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, I won’t name the countries, but there are probably four or five countries in the Middle East who say, ‘We are going to start a program, and we will have nuclear weapons,’ ” Obama said. “And at that point, the prospect for miscalculation in a region that has that many tensions and fissures is profound.”

Israeli officials have hinted repeatedly that Netanyahu might order his air force to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities this year. The goal would be to set back Iran’s uranium enrichment program before it can be moved to underground quarters out of the range of Israeli bombers, what Israeli officials call a “zone of immunity.”

White House officials are trying to convince Netanyahu that no such immunity zone exists because the U.S., which has a much larger and more powerful air force, could attack Iran if diplomatic efforts to stop the nuclear program fail.

A military strike now would give Tehran a boost in domestic and foreign support at a time when Iran has become increasingly isolated, Obama said.

In the interview, Obama hinted that he had won over Israel’s defense minister, saying, “I think that Ehud Barak understands” his position. “I think that Prime Minister Netanyahu, hopefully when he sees me next week, will understand it.” The statement echoed suggestions in the Israeli press that Barak has been receptive to U.S. appeals for restraint.

Speaking during a news conference Friday with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Netanyahu warned against falling into a trap of new nuclear talks with Iran. Netanyahu said Iran could use negotiations to stall tougher international action, while continuing to work on its nuclear program.

Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes only; the U.S. and many of its allies suspect that the Islamic republic is trying to master the components of a nuclear weapon.

Obama also got a boost from Harper, who, unlike the president, has a warm relationship with Netanyahu. Speaking after his meeting with the Israeli leader in Ottawa, Harper echoed the U.S. calls for further diplomacy.

“We, of course, recognize the right of Israel to defend itself as a sovereign state, as a Jewish state. That said, we want to see a peaceful resolution of this issue,” Harper said. “And we want to see every action taken to get a peaceful resolution of the situation.”

Obama plans to continue his effort with a speech Sunday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

White House officials say Netanyahu is not their only audience. The president has an interest in convincing the wider world of his views, said one senior administration official, and will have deeper conversations with Netanyahu in private about when to take military action.

Obama stopped short of some significant measures Israeli leaders and their allies have asked for. The most notable involve timing – the so-called red line for what Iranian acts would trigger a U.S. strike. Administration officials have said the U.S. would act to prevent Iran from actually building a nuclear weapon; Israel wants to move sooner, blocking Iran from getting the scientific and industrial capacity for a weapons program.

Obama also made clear that he does not agree with the repeated warnings by some Israeli officials that Iran is within months of reaching the point where outside powers won’t be able to halt their program.

“Our assessment, which is shared by the Israelis, is that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is not yet in a position to obtain a nuclear weapon without us having a pretty long lead time in which we will know that they are making that attempt,” he said.

He also made clear that he does not prefer military force because it is only a “temporary” solution. The Iranians could rebuild their program, he noted. A permanent solution would be one that brings the Iranians to their own decision to halt the nuclear program, he said, citing the examples of South Africa and Libya, which both voluntarily abandoned nuclear programs.