US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro insisted Israel and the US are “very well coordinated” on their respective policies regarding Iran, as he claimed the UN General Assembly speeches by Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama both demonstrated “we’re absolutely committed to the same goal...(and) we’re determined to prevent it”.
Much had been made of apparent contrasts between the two leaders’ positions on Iran’s contested nuclear weapons programme in the lead-up to the convention of the 193 UN member states in New York this week, with Obama seeming to shy away from answering Netanyahu’s calls for the US to draw a “clear red line” on its timetable for abandoning its as-yet unsuccessful preferred sanctions and diplomacy policy.
Obama seemed to deliver somewhat on the tough rhetoric demanded by Israel, by telling the General Assembly Tuesday that, whilst there is still time for Iran to commit to making diplomacy work, “time is not unlimited”.
Whilst he stopped short of Netanyahu’s absolute “red line”, however, he did condemn the prospect of a nuclear Iran as a challenge that can’t “be contained”. "It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations and the stability of the global economy," he continued, adding: "The United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
Whilst Netanyahu appear to retreat from making a clear threat to strike Iran, he used his speech to call on the international community to present a clear red line to Iran, in the face of which he believed, he said, Iran would back down. "This will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to convince Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program altogether," he added, in somewhat conciliatory tones.
In conversation with Israeli daily Times of Israel, Shapiro emphasised the apparent “overlap” in rhetoric pointed to a common policy of prevention and containment. “We recognize the threat that’s posed by an Iran with nuclear weapons — to Israel and its existence, to US interests and security and stability throughout the Middle East and that’s why we’re determined to prevent it,” he added.
Meanwhile, following his speech to the assembly, Netanyahu met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York, where both parties sought to further develop on their newly-articulated common policies. Ahead of the meeting, Bloomberg commended Obama for sending a clear message “that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons”, whilst equally heralded Netanyahu’s compelling argument for the need for a clear red line from the international community.
Echoing the mood of optimism, Netanyahu added “we’re in close consultations with the United States about this issue, about how to practically prevent Iran from moving ahead, how to make them abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions,” further telling Bloomberg he believed this to be an achievable goal.
Alluding to America having undertaken “necessary preparations” in the event that ongoing diplomatic efforts should fail to produce the desired results, Shapiro said: “We made very clear that we’re going to do everything we need to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. That includes having a military option on the table.”