Republican candidate says there should be "no daylight" between US and Israel, diplomacy and sanctions have time to work.
By JPOST.COM STAFFMitt Romney delivers speech in Jerusalem 370 (R)(photo credit: Jason Reed / Reuters)
US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Tuesday that he and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu share the same red lines for Iran's nuclear program.Speaking to CNN, Romney said: "My own test is that Iran should not have the capability of producing a nuclear weapon. I think that's the same test that Benjamin Netanyahu would also apply."He added that there should be "no daylight between the United States and Israel," returning to a theme he has brought out frequently in recent campaign events. "We share values, and we're both absolutely committed to preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon," he said.Romney's position represents somewhat of a realignment since September, when he admitted to ABC's George Stephanopoulos that his position was identical to the Obama's, explaining that "My red line is Iran may not have a nuclear weapon."In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Obama underscored that he and Netanyahu are in regular communication and highlighted their continued cooperation."I understand and share Prime Minister Netanyahu's insistence that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon because it would threaten us, it would threaten Israel and it would threaten the world and kick off a nuclear arms race," Obama said.Asked if he feels any pressure by Netanyahu to "draw a line in the sand" on the Iranian nuclear issue, the US president responded: "When it comes to our national security decisions, any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people. And I am going to block out any noise that's out there."Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threatDespite laying out new red lines for the Islamic Republic, Romney cautioned that "we have a long way to go before military action may be necessary. And hopefully it's never necessary. Hopefully, through extremely tight sanctions, as well as diplomatic action, we can prevent Iran from taking a course which would lead to them crossing that line.""There's great hope and real prospects for dissuading Iran from taking a path that leads into a nuclear setting," the former Massachusetts governor said.
If Israel were to launch a military strike, he said, "the actions of Israel would not come as a surprise to me."A report in Foreign Policy magazine on Monday said that Israel and the US are considering a joint surgical strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.Click here for special JPost coverage
