Obama repeats threats to Iran

Barack Obama reiterated his hawkish stance towards Iran on July 23 by saying he would "take no options off the table." The Democratic presidential candidate, echoing President Bush's stance on Iran, warned that a nuclear Iran "would be a game-changing situation," not just in the Middle East but in the rest of the world. "A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Obama told reporters on a visit to Israel. Obama, who sounded less than self-assured on the complexities of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, was forthright about Iran in comments that will reassure the Israeli leadership. Israel, which has nuclear missiles, has been increasing its threats to attack Iran. Despite UN sanctions insisting it halt its work on nuclear production, Iran has continued while maintaining that their program is strictly for energy-making purposes. To date, there is no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons-making program. Last month, Israel carried out a major military exercise in a less-than-subtle hint to Iran that it was prepared to bombard Tehran's nuclear facilities, no matter the diplomatic repercussions. "I will take no options off the table in dealing with Iranian threat," Obama told an audience in the Israeli town of Sderot. In remarks that will go down well with Israelis, Obama stuck to his controversial remark that Jerusalem should be capital of Israel. "It is important we don' t slice the city in half," he said, before backtracking slightly by saying the status of Jerusalem should be left to final negotiations. Obama, who faces John McCain in the November election, outraged the Arab world last month when he said Jerusalem should be Israel's "undivided" capital, even though no US government has recognized Israel's 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem, claimed by the Palestinians as their future capital. Later, Obama said he used "poor phrasing" when he made the remarks, but will have angered Palestinians with his comments on Jerusalem at Sderot. Kadoura Fares, an member of parliament in Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, strongly criticized Obama's comments on Jerusalem. "His correction was not enough," Fares said. "He should have said he recognizes the Palestinian right to freedom."