Obama Top Aide Meets Israeli Senior Delegation On Iran, Syria

A top national security aide of U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday met with a delegation of senior Israeli officials for talks on Iran, Syria and other regional issues, the White House said in a statement.

U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon hosted the Israeli delegation led by Yaakov Amidror, Chairman of Israel’s National Security Council and National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in the statement.

“Today’s meetings were the latest in a series of regular, high- level consultations between the United States and Israel,” said Vietor, stressing America’s “unshakable commitment” to Israel’s security.

The Obama administration has advised Israel against premeditated attacks on the nuclear sites inside Iran on the grounds that the sanctions are biting and there is still “time and space” to seek a peaceful resolution through the two-track approach of pressure and diplomacy.

Obama and his aides have also refused to set a “red line” for military strikes against Iran, as requested by the rather hawkish Netanyahu, though the president has declared that he would take no options off the table to stop the Islamic republic from obtaining nuclear bombs.

Xinhuanet