Obama Pledges Eternal Alliance with "Israel": All Iran Options on Table

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama's first visit to the Zionist entity started Wednesday where he pledged an "eternal" alliance with Tel Aviv.
During his three-day visit, Obama will also hold talks in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and travel to Jordan before returning home Saturday.
Eager to reassure an anxious ally, Obama promised to work closely with "Israel" and do whatever was necessary to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear arms, "the world's worst weapons."
Obama, meeting with "Israeli" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said of Iran's nuclear program: "We prefer to resolve this diplomatically and there is still time to do so." But he added that "all options are on the table" if diplomacy falls short.
"The question is, will Iranian leadership seize that opportunity," he added, and claimed that "Iran's past behavior indicates that we can't even trust yet, much less verify."

On Syria, Obama commented on the use of chemical agents a as "grave and tragic mistake" and a "game-changer."
"Al-Assad regime must understand they will be held accountable," he claimed, and added: "I am deeply skeptical of any claim that in fact it was the opposition that used chemical weapons."
Earlier on Wednesday, during a joint news conference with Obama, "Israeli" President Shimon Peres warned against chemical arms falling into "the wrong hands."

"Fortunately the Syrian nuclear capacity was destroyed but unfortunately the arsenal of chemical weapons remain. We cannot allow those weapons to fall into terrorists' hands -- it could lead to an epic tragedy," Peres said.
He also didn't forget to express fear from Hizbullah: "On our northern border Iran's proxy Hizbullah continues to stockpile arms and threaten us while they target innocent people across the world," Peres claimed.

Netanyahu, at Obama's side for a joint news conference, said that while he appreciated US efforts to thwart Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons through diplomacy and sanctions, those tools "must be augmented by a clear and credible threat of military action."

"I am absolutely convinced that the president is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said. "I appreciate that. I appreciate the fact that the president has reaffirmed, more than any other president, "Israel's" right and duty to defend itself by itself against any threat."
Bibi said that he and Obama agree that it would take Iran about a year to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Obama said there is "not a lot of light, a lot of daylight" between the two leaders in intelligence assessments about Iran, and Netanyahu concurred.

Obama also took note of the difficult way forward in the broader quest for the so-called "Middle East peace", acknowledging that in recent years "we haven't gone forward, we haven't seen the kind of progress that we would like to see."
The US president said he came to the region principally to listen, and hoped to return home with a better understanding of the constraints and "how the US can play a constructive role."

Obama's visit to "Israel", from the start, has been designed to send a message of reassurance to the key ally.
At an extravagant welcoming ceremony, Obama sounded a message that "peace must come to the Holy Land" and that such a goal could not be achieved at the so-called ""Israel's" expense."
"US backing for "Israel" will be a constant as the Middle East roils with revolution and Iran continues work on its nuclear program," he said.

"The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend," Obama said after landing at Tel Aviv's "Ben Gurion" Airport.
He called his visit "an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds, to restate America's unwavering commitment to "Israel's" security, and to speak directly to the people of "Israel" and to your neighbors."

Reiterating Washington's commitment to the Zionist entity, Obama declared the US-"Israeli" alliance "eternal."
Even before leaving the airport , Obama offered a vivid display of the US commitment to "Israel's" security by visiting a missile battery that is part of "Israel's" Iron Dome.

Netanyahu, who sparred frequently with Obama over the course of the US president's first term, praised Obama.
"Thank you for standing by "Israel" at this time of historic change in the Middle East," he said.
Thursday, Obama plans to speak to "Israeli" university students and again renew US security pledges to the Zionist entity.

Source: News agencies, Edited by moqawama.org