Obama: Not Much Time Left for ‘Diplomatic Solution’ to Iran

Says Iran Must Act Quickly, Attack Remains an 'Option'

Speaking today in South Korea, President Obama warned that there was little time left to resolve the ongoing dispute with Iran through diplomacy, insisting that the “window is closing” for the Iranians.

While the US and Israeli intelligence community have both agreed repeatedly that there is no Iranian nuclear weapons program, both President Obama and Israeli leaders have repeatedly threatened to attack Iran to “stop” that program, and Obama reiterated again that a military strike remains an “option.”

Time is short. Iran must act with the seriousness and sense of urgency that this moment demands,” Obama insisted. Though the exact timetable for an attack on Iran is a matter of much speculation, US officials have mostly recently termed the period right before the US election in November the “sweet spot” for such a war.

Obama made the statement following a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. Erdogan is planning to visit Iran before the end of the month, and has been seen as one of the more vocal opponents of a war on the international scene.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.