Obama warns US is 'not bluffing' on considering military action against Iran

Washington, Mar 3(ANI): US President Barack Obama has warned that he is "not bluffing" on the issue of considering military action against Iran to prevent that country from developing a nuclear bomb.

Obama stressed that the US' current policy included diplomatic pressure, political isolation and "unprecedented and crippling" economic sanctions.

He predicted that if Iran's apparent ambitions succeeded, four or five countries in the Middle East would scramble to acquire nuclear weapons.

"We've got Israel's back. 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," The Telegraph quoted Obama, as telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Obama rejected Israel's fears that the US would resign itself to containing a nuclear Iran.

"I think that the Israeli government recognizes that, as President of the United States, I don't bluff. I also don't, as a matter of sound policy, go around advertising exactly what our intentions are," he added.

Obama claimed that the risk of an Iranian bomb being passed to terrorist groups was "profound", and added that surrounding states would feel forced to follow suit.

"It is almost certain that other players in the region would feel it necessary to get their own nuclear weapons. So now you have the prospect of a nuclear arms race in the most volatile region in the world, one that is rife with unstable governments and sectarian tensions," he added. (ANI)