Obama: No green light for Israel to attack Iran

[Scurrilous]

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"President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the United States had "absolutely not" given Israel a green light to attack Iran over its nuclear program, but he said Washington cannot "dictate to other countries what their security interests are."

"It is the policy of the United States to try to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear capabilities in a peaceful way through diplomatic channels," Obama told CNN in an interview during his trip to Russia.

Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview with ABC's "This Week" program on Sunday that Israel had a sovereign right to decide what is in its best interest in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions, a comment seen by some as giving Israel a green light to attack.

Asked if that was the intent of his administration, Obama said: "Absolutely not."

"I think Vice President Biden stated a categorical fact which is we can't dictate to other countries what their security interests are," Obama said.

"We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and solve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East," he said."

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