Monday, 6 February 2012In an interview with NBC on Sunday night, U.S. President Barack Obama said he saw no grounds for rumors that Iran may be planning an attack on the United States.
“We don’t see any evidence that they [Iran] have those intentions or capabilities right now,” he said.
Tensions over Iran's nuclear activities have reached boiling point since the Islamic Republic announced earlier this month that it had launched a nuclear enrichment program at a well-protected underground facility near the city of Qom.
A number of experts do not rule out that the diplomatic spat with Iran and unilateral U.S. and EU sanctions may develop into a full-scale military conflict. The anti-Iranian coalition may include Georgia, Turkey, Israel and Persian Gulf monarchies.
In his Sunday’s interview Obama said he opposed military operations in the Persian Gulf region.
"Obviously, any kind of additional military activity inside the Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us, it can have a big effect on oil prices," he said. "We've still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran. And so our preferred solution here is diplomatic, we're going to keep on pushing on that front."
Obama also discounted U.S. media reports that Israel, which views Iran's uranium enrichment activity as a major threat to its security, may attack Iran in four months. A Washington Post journalist on Friday attributed the statement to U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who refused to officially comment on the statement.
"I don't think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do," the U.S. president said, adding, however, that “we're not going to take any option off the table.” |
Monday, 6 February 2012
Ria Novosti
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