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Itongadol.- President Shimon Peres said he was "free of doubts" that his American counterpart Barack Obama would use military force if necessary to stop Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.
"I think he is a man of values. He is a man that I respect his words. And he is a man that thinks before he speaks," Peres told CNN on Tuesday.
Last week Obama told Israel\’s Channel 2 he believes Iran is "over a year or so" away from being able to develop a nuclear weapon and that the US will use "all options" to stop it.
Addressing the American leader\’s assessment, Peres told CNN "I do believe that the United States is following carefully the time and the progress.
"So a year is an estimation. If something were to happen earlier, I am sure we will pay attention to the change," he said.
Asked if he believed Tehran viewed the White House "all options" approach as serious, Peres said: "That I am not sure. I am not sure whether the relations between Iran and the truth are so intimate. I think they are capable of bluffing others and bluffing themselves."
The Israeli president played down disagreements between US and Israeli intelligence assessments of Iran\’s progress toward a nuclear bomb.
"There may be some differences in timing, but basically we support the policy of the president of the United States," Peres said.
Obama told Channel 2 that Iran is "not yet at the point I think where they\’ve made a fundamental decision to get right with the international community, but I do think that they\’re recognizing that there\’s a severe cost for them to continue on the path that they\’re on and that there\’s another door open."