Obama warns against premature Iran strike

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama warned on Friday against a premature attack on Iran, while Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu insisted his country had the right to self-defense and needed room to maneuver.

But in an apparent nod to Netanyahu ahead of key White House talks on Monday, Obama said if sanctions failed to curb Tehran's atomic ambitions, US military action against Iranian nuclear facilities should not be ruled out.

"I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as president of the United States, I don't bluff," Obama told the Atlantic Monthly magazine in remarks published Friday.

"I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are. But I think both the Iranian and the Israeli governments recognize that when the United States says it is unacceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, we mean what we say."

US strategy included isolating Tehran politically, sanctions and diplomacy, Obama said.

"And it includes a military component. And I think people understand that," he added.

On his way to Washington, Netanyahu arrived Friday in Canada against a backdrop of fears that Israel could unilaterally strike suspected Iranian nuclear sites. (AFP)