BICOM

US President Barack Obama yesterday said that Iran’s nuclear programme was a far greater concern for the United States than Syria’s chemical stockpiles and that military action is a possibility to stop Tehran’s atomic development.

Speaking to ABC television, Obama directly linked the United States’ approach to disarming Syria’s chemical weapons and Iran’s nuclear development, saying “My suspicion is that the Iranians recognise they shouldn’t draw a lesson that we haven’t struck [in Syria]to think we won’t strike Iran.” He added, “I think what the Iranians understand is that – the nuclear issue – is a far larger issue for us than the chemical weapons issue, that – the threat against Iran – against Israel, that a nuclear Iran poses, is much closer to our core interests.” However, Obama did stress that Iran should draw a lesson “that there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically,” revealing that he had recently exchanged letters with Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani.

In comments made during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to agree with Obama’s assessment, saying “The determination the international community shows regarding Syria will have a direct impact on the Syrian regime’s patron Iran. Iran must understand the consequences of its continued defiance of the international community.” Netanyahu argued that the events of recent weeks regarding Syrian chemical weapons showed that “if diplomacy has any chance to work, it must be coupled with a credible military threat.”

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office yesterday said that Foreign Secretary William Hague will meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Zarif on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly later this month in New York. Iranian President Hassan Rowhani indicated in a tweet that he too would meet Hague in New York, but the Foreign Office was unable to confirm it.