A US official sought to reassure Israel this week on President Barack Obama's determination to curb Iran's disputed nuclear program, as the president geared up for his first trip to Israel since taking office in 2008.
The visit by Rose Gottemoeller, acting US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, was seen by her Israeli hosts as part of an effort to smooth the way for Obama's spring trip to the region, in which the Iranian issue will loom large.
An Israeli official who met Gottemoeller said she had "reiterated the Americans' commitment to preventing a nuclear Iran, and their worries about regional proliferation, were Iran to go nuclear".