U.S. won’t let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon – spokesman

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. would not let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon and would use all its power in its arsenal to achieve this goal, the White House said, according to Firstpost.

“The President’s position unequivocally is that he is committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters at a news conference.

“We share that view with Israel and Israel’s leadership in a way that has been made clear again and again. That’s why the president has pursued the policy that he has, that has put, together with our international partners, unrelenting pressure on Iran to abide by its international obligations and to forsake its nuclear weapons ambitions,” he said.

The U.S., he said, believes in an effort that is focused on punitive sanctions to isolate and pressure Iran and on diplomacy to bring about a change in behavior.

“But we’ve also made clear that the window of opportunity for reaching a solution by that means will not remain open indefinitely and that the president retains all options on the table in the pursuit of his commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Carney asserted.

Carney said the U.S. has extensive and ongoing conversations and contact with Israel on this issue, as well as a wide variety of other security-related issues.

“We have the most comprehensive security and intelligence relationship with Israel in history, as attested to by not just leaders from this administration, but from the Israeli government,” he said.

“The President is committed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and he will use every tool in the arsenal of American power to achieve that goal,” Carney said in response to a question.

“It is not fruitful as part of this process to engage in that kind of specificity,” he added.

“What we know is that we have eyes into the program, we are aware of developments, and we would know if there were a so-called breakout move by Iran toward the building of a nuclear weapon. And that has not happen,” he said.

“There remains time, based on the information that we have, and we and the Israelis share back and forth, to continue to pursue the two-pronged effort. But the President has always made clear that he retains all options and that he will use and have available to him all the tools of American power as necessary to deal with this very serious issue,” Carney said.