Obama reverses Biden, warns Netanyahu publicly and privately on Iran
WASHINGTON — Government sources said the administration of President Barack Obama
relayed a warning to Israel that Washington has not changed its opposition
to an Israeli strike option against Iran.
The sources said the warning by
the
White House was meant to clarify a statement by Vice President Joseph Biden two days earlier
on July 5.
"The administration made it very clear to Israel that Biden's statement
was misunderstood and that Washington would not tolerate any Israeli strike
on Iran," a government source said.
On July 7, Obama issued a direct warning to Israel against planning an
attack on Iran. The president said Iran's nuclear program must be resolved
through diplomatic means.
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The sources said the administration sent a similar message through
private channels to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu. They said the administration warned Israel not to take any action
that would disrupt the U.S. reconciliation effort with Iran.
Biden on July 5 stated: "Israel can determine for itself — it's a sovereign nation — what's in
their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else,"
Biden said.
Obama, on the other hand state: "We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and
resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major
conflict in the Middle East,"
Biden said in a television interview that the United States did not have the
right to stop an attack by Israel or any other sovereign country. The vice
president's statement was regarded in Israel and the West as tacit approval
for an imminent Israeli attack on Teheran.