President Shimon Peres said that while there may be some differences in matters of
timing, Israel and the US basically support the same policy on the issue
of Iran, speaking in an interview with CNN on the eve of US President
Barack Obama's visit to Israel.
The president wholeheartedly put
his support in the US president's policy on Iran, saying that he is
"free of doubts" that Obama would use military force if necessary to
stop preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
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"I do believe that the United States is following carefully the time and the progress," Peres told CNN.
Obama,
who has urged patience from Netanyahu, said last week that Iran was
still more than a year away from developing a nuclear bomb if it made
the final decision to build one.
"So a year is an estimation,"
Peres said in reference to Obama's recent remarks. "If something were to
happen earlier, I am sure we will pay attention to the change.
Turning
to the notoriously frosty relationship between Obama and Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu, Peres said the gaps between the two men are not as
wide as portrayed, but rather "it is more appearance than reality."
"I
think they understand it even if they come from different philosophies,
they go to the same goal," Peres said. "When it comes to the goal there
are no differences."
Shortly before leaving for a trip to the region,
Obama on Monday said now was the time for Iran to take "immediate and
meaningful steps" to reduce tensions with the international community
over its nuclear program.
Reuters contributed to this report
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