Still time for diplomacy in Iran, US says

‘Israel’s security is our paramount concern,’ State Department spokeswoman says

The United States’ position on the Iranian nuclear threat “has not changed,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a press conference in Washington, DC on Wednesday, reiterating the American position that “there is still time for diplomacy to work.”

“But,” Nuland continued, “we need to see a better effort from the Iranians to answer the concerns that we’ve had.”

Asked specifically whether the US has told Israel it would support the Jewish state in the event of an Israeli preemptive attack on Iran, Nuland replied, “The security of our Israeli ally is of paramount concern to us. We continue to have intensive consultations about all aspects of that and to support their requirements, but we have made absolutely clear to them that our view is that there’s still time for diplomacy to work.”