President Says United States Should Counter Iranian Threat With ‘All Resources,’ Mentioning Diplomacy
President Obama discussed the threat from Iran, but never mentioned missile defense, during his first formal White House press conference.
He assailed Iran for its nuclear production program, saying that Iran is pursuing development of a nuclear weapon.
Then he said that he would “take an approach with Iran that employs all of the resources at the United States’ disposal, and that includes diplomacy,” without mentioning the U.S. plan to build the European Missile Defense system — a radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in ground silos in Poland.
Obama’s comments came less than a week after Iran used a home-made rocket to launch a satellite into orbit that within 30 minutes was streaking over the United States, the same basic technology as is required for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
But the president didn’t mention the incident, which his press secretary earlier said the administration views with “acute concern,” nor did Obama mention the planned European Missile Defense system to shield Europe from Iranian missile attacks.
In criticizing adamant Iranian insistence on continuing the nuclear production program, Obama said Iran is creating a danger not only to the Middle East, but to the world, with its nuclear program. Provocations by Tehran, such as the nuclear development program, “create the possibility of destabilizing the region and are not only contrary to our interests, but I think are contrary to the interests of international peace,” Obama warned.
Experts estimate Iran already has produced enough fissile material to make one nuclear weapon, and by the end of this year will have enough materials to make several weapons.
Obama said he wishes to open a “constructive dialogue” with Iran on critical issues, which would be a shift in policy from the Bush administration, but at the same time Obama expects some corresponding conciliatory movement from Tehran.
“Now it’s time for Iran to send some signals that it wants to act differently as well, and recognize that even as it has some rights as a member of the international community, with those rights come responsibilities,” Obama said.
During his long election campaign to win the presidency, Obama said repeatedly he would negotiate with Iran.
However, he has added to that openness some moves he would wish to see Iran make.
The Iranian launch to orbit of a satellite, which now is circling the globe, apparently came as a surprise to U.S. intelligence agencies.
Robert Gates, whom Obama retained as secretary of defense, said just a week earlier that it would be two to three years before Iran could deploy a missile capable of reaching Europe or Russia. Instead, the new Iranian missile, if converted to an intercontinental ballistic missile, would be able to strike any target in the world.
Iran also defies world opinion and efforts of the United Nations as it runs thousands of centrifuges to produce nuclear materials.
While intelligence estimates see Iran producing downsized nuclear weapons able to fit atop an ICBM in the 2013 to 2015 time frame, but U.S. intelligence estimates on rogue nation missile and nuclear capabilities have been wrong previously.
For example, just as American intelligence didn’t expect the Iranian satellite launch this month, so too it was a surprise when North Korea in the past decade fired a missile that arced over Japan and fell into the sea, and in 2006 detonated a nuclear weapon in an underground test.
Iranian leaders such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have referred to the United States as the Great Satan, and said they can imagine a world without the United States.
A Heritage Foundation study by James Jay Carifano, released in October, said Iran is studying how to create an electro-magnetic pulse attack, which would involve firing a single nuclear-warhead missile about 300 miles above, say, Iowa or North Dakota and detonating the weapon.
That pulse would kill most systems using electricity, ranging from cars-buses-trucks-trains, to electrical power systems, to jet engines (planes would fall from the sky).