'Over year or so' for Iran to get the bomb: Obama

JERUSALEM - Agence France-Presse

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Organizing for Action dinner at the Adour Restaurant, St. Regis Hotel, Washington DC on March 13, 2013. Obama told Israel's Channel 2 television that it will take Iran "over a year or so" to develop a nuclear weapon according to the U.S. administration's assessment. ABACAUSA.COM photo

It will take Iran "over a year or so" to develop a nuclear weapon, US President Barack Obama told Israel's Channel 2 television a week before he pays a historic visit to the Jewish state.

"We think that it would take over a year or so for Iran to actually develop a nuclear weapon, but obviously, we don't want to cut it too close," he said in an exclusive interview with the private TV station. Obama is due to arrive in Israel on March 20 for a three-day visit, his first since being elected president in 2008, on a trip which will also take him to the Palestinian territories.

Should diplomacy fail, all options remained "on the table" for stopping Iran, he said. "My message to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) will be the same as before: if we can resolve it diplomatically, that's a more lasting solution. But if not, I continue to keep all options on the table," he said.

Asked if there was a realistic option that he would order an attack on Iran's nuclear sites, he said: "When I say that all options are on the table, all options are on the table and the United States obviously has significant capabilities.

"But our goal here is to make sure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel or could trigger an arms race in the region that would be extraordinarily dangerous at a time when obviously there are already a lot of things going on."