VP says ‘less than an even shot’ of a nuclear deal, hails US
‘self-interest’ in having a ‘secure, democratic, strategic partner like Israel’
Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said that the Obama
administration is absolutely determined to preventing Iran from acquiring
nuclear weapons, and is steadfast in its commitment to Israel’s security.
Speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington, the vice
president tried to dispel uncertainty over the Obama administration’s
determination to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear arms.
“There’s been a lot of malarkey around our position on
Iran,” Biden said. While there was an acceptable degree of disagreement between
American and Israeli officials concerning dealing with Iran, the vice president
said there was immense cooperation between the two allies about the issue, and
“no daylight” on the need to stop Iran at all costs.
“We will not let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon. Period.
Period. End of discussion. It will not happen on our watch,” he stressed.
“The long and dangerous reach of its nuclear ambitions is
felt not just by Israel but by everyone in the neighborhood,” Biden said of the
Iranian regime.
Fearful that Iran may choose to break out to the bomb if it
has the potential to do so, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
publicly warned the US and the rest of the international community against
finalizing a deal with Iran that would leave it with a uranium enrichment
capability, and other aspects of what Netanyahu calls its “military nuclear”
capacity. The Obama Administration, by contrast, has indicated readiness to
have Iran maintain an intrusively supervised enrichment capability.
Biden said international sanctions had brought Iran to the
negotiating table and stopped its nuclear program in its tracks.
“It’s frozen the program, it’s given us a shot for a
peaceful solution,” he said. “I tell you, I think it’s a less than even shot
but it’s a shot, nonetheless.”
He nonetheless dismissed calls for additional sanctions
against the Islamic Republic, saying “this is not the time to risk a breakdown
when we still have a chance for a breakthrough.”
The US-led P5+1 negotiators and Iran missed a November 24
deadline for a deal, and agreed to extend negotiations through to next July.
The vice president noted that the prospect of a nuclear Iran
was “looming” over an increasingly fraught Middle East: “For Israel, this tough
neighborhood is home.”
Biden touted the Obama administration’s bona fides in
providing for Israel’s security, and stressed its moral obligation to stand by
the Jewish state.
“If there weren’t an Israel we’d have to invent one,” he
said. “It’s so much more than a moral obligation.”
“It’s overwhelming in the self-interest of the United States
to have a secure and democratic friend, a strategic partner like Israel. It’s
no favor. It’s an obligation, but it’s a strategic necessity,” Biden remarked.
“There’s never been any doubt in my mind… that we have an
obligation to match the steel and the spine of the people of Israel with an
ironclad, nonnegotiable commitment to Israel’s physical security,” Biden said,
pointing out that Washington has invested over a billion dollars in the
production and development of the Iron Dome missile defense system alone.
Although Israel is a “physical, capable power,” “just
because it’s strong, just because it’s vibrant, just because it’s physically
capable does not mean that it’s not under siege,” Biden said.
Read more: Biden: 'Iran won't get the bomb on our watch. Period'
| The Times of Israel
http://www.timesofisrael.com/biden-iran-wont-get-the-bomb-on-our-watch-period/#ixzz3LC4u7Y7h
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