BICOM

The United States is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and will take “no options off the table” to achieve this goal, US President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Obama added that a peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear dispute is still possible if Iran changes course and meets international obligations.

In a speech mostly devoted to domestic issues, the US President also voiced his commitment to Israel’s security. “Our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security has meant the closest cooperation between our countries in history,” Obama stated.

The US President also briefly addressed the situation in Syria, saying that Bashar Assad would discover that “forces of change cannot be reversed.”

Meanwhile yesterday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that tougher sanctions are needed for Iran to change course. Barak, in an interview with Israel Radio, said that while steps taken by the US and Europe were unprecedented and represented a significant increase of pressure, they still were not enough to get Iranian leaders to conclude they must end their nuclear project.

Barak added Israel felt the timeline for sanctions needed to be shortened – the oil embargo will only go into effect on 1 July, giving the Iranians time to find other markets – and that other measures should be taken, such as restricting all transactions with Iran’s central bank.