WarSclerotic

White House: Obama, Netanyahu to talk – UPI.com.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) — President Obama will likely phone Israel’s premier Friday, a day after Binyamin Netanyahu thanked him for warning Iran about nuclear arms, the White House said.

Netanyahu was to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York Thursday evening, “and I expect the president will have a follow-up phone call with the prime minister probably Friday,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a rare instance of the White House previewing a call with a foreign leader.

Some critics have said Obama snubbed the Israeli leader by not meeting with him in person. The White House denied the allegation. Officials also denied Israeli media reports saying Obama refused an Israeli request for a meeting with Netanyahu in Washington, saying such a request was never made.

The two leaders have had a public dispute over how to confront Iran over its nuclear program.

But Netanyahu Thursday thanked Obama before the U.N. General Assembly for a warning Obama gave Iran in his own General Assembly speech Tuesday.

Obama said he would not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran and said time was running out before Washington would consider options beyond diplomacy and sanctions to ensure Iran doesn’t obtain nuclear arms.

“I very much appreciate the president’s position, as does everyone in my country,” Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader emphasized Israel’s solidarity with the United States, saying, “Israel is in discussions with the United States over this issue, and I am confident that we can chart a path forward together.”

His remarks were widely viewed as attempting to smooth over differences with the Obama administration over the urgency of what both countries view as an Iranian nuclear threat.

Netanyahu, who said Washington and Jerusalem were working toward a “common goal” on Iran, also said his deadline for a military strike was well past November’s U.S. presidential election — perhaps as late as next summer.

The White House and U.S. military planners had worried about a possible “October surprise” attack by Israel, The New York Times reported.

U.S., Israeli and European officials, supported by U.N. weapons inspectors, maintain Iran plans to build nuclear weapons.

Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian uses only.

But in meetings with reporters and academics during the General Assembly, Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, refused to rule out the possibility Iran would continue producing 20 percent-enriched uranium, even though it has enough to run its medical reactor for six to 10 years, the Times said.

Twenty-percent enrichment puts Iran on the cusp of weapons-grade uranium.

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