The United States will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, the Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, John Kerry, told Israeli President Shimon Peres in a meeting here on Tuesday.
Calling the Tehran's nuclear program "a strategic
and not tactical threat," Kerry said "I hope there is no doubt about
President (Barack) Obama's seriousness and commitment that Iran should not have
and cannot have a nuclear weapon," Kerry told Peres.
During the meeting, held at the presidential residence in
Jerusalem, Peres told Kerry that he was confident of Obama's resolve, and was
"convinced" that the American leader would "stand by his
commitment to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. "
"The president has made it clear that he is not
talking about containment he is talking about prevention," Kerry said.
Turning to the turmoil sweeping countries throughout the
region, and the stalled peace process with the Palestinians, Peres said that
"the following months are critical and we must navigate through this
period with care and wisdom."
As for Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President
Mahmoud Abbas, Peres said he was encouraged by an address the Palestinian
leader gave before the Tunisian Parliament on Monday.
Abbas called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his
"partner for peace," but demanded Israel to return to negotiations
based on accepting all of the PNA's preconditions, including a full settlement
freeze, and accepting the pre-1967 war cease-fire lines as a starting point.
"I choose you, Netanyahu," Abbas said.
"With whom else can we make peace? You are the Israeli prime minister and
I am forced to work with you."
Peres lauded Abbas' statement that "neither side can
afford to wait until after the elections as neither side has the control over
the situation and developments of the region."
Kerry's next stop is to meet Egyptian leaders in Cairo,
according to a President's Office statement.