from what he has been saying since he was inaugurated just over three years ago—the United States wants a negotiated solution to the nuclear issue and does not want a war with Iran, but will resort to military force as a last resort rather than see Iran become a nuclear state.
The one element that was new in Obama’s comments on NBC was an expression of concern that Iran might try to arrange attacks on US troops inside Afghanistan if the US were to attack Iran.
That comment raised some eyebrows since US troops in Afghanistan are already under attack by the Taliban, and the US has said that Iran provides some limited aid to the Taliban. Also, US troops are armed to defend themselves.
Obama said there are important risks to consider before making any military strike against Iran and made clear he does not want to see more conflict. He emphasized that he wants a diplomatic end to the nuclear standoff.
“Any kind of additional military activity inside the [Persian] Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices. We’ve still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran. And so our preferred solution here is diplomatic,” Obama said.
He said Israel had not yet decided what to do in response to the escalating tension but was “rightly” concerned about Tehran’s plans.
“My number one priority continues to be the security of the United States, but also the security of Israel, and we are going
to make sure that we work in lockstep as we proceed to try to solve this, hopefully diplomatically.”
Obama played down testimony last week by his intelligence chief saying the Islamic Republic appeared willing now to undertake attacks on US soil. “We don’t see any evidence they have those intentions or capabilities right now,” he said. The reference to capabilities seemed to be to the fact that Iran does not have a missile able to reach the United States.
Obama appeared to think—as have many people—that James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, said Tehran was prepared to attack the United States. But he actually said only that the alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington showed that Iran was “now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States.” He did not say “on” the United States, a major distinction.
Last year’s alleged plot was aimed at the Saudi ambassador. And two terrorist operations 30 years ago in the Washington area involved killing a former royal diplomat and burning the Iran Times offices. The agent who carried out those attacks has said he was told he must not target Americans.