Obama on Iran: 'I Don't Bluff'

Atlantic interview: US, not Israel, should strike if necessary
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 2, 2012 11:27 AM CST
Obama on Iran: 'I Don't Bluff'
President Obama speaks on energy policy and the economy at Nashua Community College in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Thursday.   (Getty Images)

President Obama meets with Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to talk about Iran's nukes, and he's apparently going to lay out a straightforward message: Israel should not attack Iran, but the US will do so if Tehran keeps moving forward with its nuclear program. Those are two main points coming out of an interview Obama gave to Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic. Obama thinks an Israeli attack would backfire and actually help Iran, and he insists he's not bluffing about a potential US attack.

The key quote on that front: "I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff," says Obama. "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." Read the full interview here. (More President Obama stories.)

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