Obama Speaks to Netanyahu, Pledges Support of Israel
Obama Speaks to Netanyahu, Pledges Support of Israel
President Obama spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, the White House said, pledging “our country’s unshakable commitment to Israel’s security” — especially when it comes to Iran.
“The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” said a White House read-out of the conversation.
The two leaders spoke amid signs that Israel may give the United States and allies more time before deciding whether to launch a military attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
In a speech yesterday to the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu spoke in terms of next year: “By next spring, at most next summer, at current enrichment rates, they will have finished the medium enrichment and moved on to the final stage — from there it’s only a few months, possibly a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb.”
Netanyahu, who has clashed with Obama over Iran policy in the past, also had kind words for the president’s pledge to block Iran’s path to nuclear weapons. “I very much appreciate the president’s position, as does everyone in my country,” said the Israeli leader.