Israeli President ‘Sure’ Obama Will Attack Iran

Americans 'Don't Begin by Shooting'

In an interview with the New York Times, Israeli President Shimon Peres expressed confidence that President Obama would eventually attack Iran, and that economic sanctions and negotiations were just a prelude to such a move.

“If none of this works, then President Obama will use military power against Iran. I am sure of it,” Peres insisted, saying that the Americans simply “don’t begin by shooting” when they are on the path to a war.

Peres went on to downplay reports of a rift between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that it is simply a matter of convincing Obama that Israel is sincere in supporting a peace deal with the Palestinians.

“Of course, he’s not convinced,” Peres added, and such convincing may be extremely difficult to accomplish with so many politicians on the Israeli far-right running on explicit opposition to Palestinian peace, and looking to gain considerable seats in this month’s election with those positions.

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.