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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123101934.html
Israel Backs Obama's Push for Sanctions on Iran
(Washington Post) Howard Schneider - Israeli officials say they will support President Obama's move to impose sanctions on Iran as a next step in the standoff over the country's nuclear program. With the expiration of the year-end U.S. deadline for Iran to resolve the issue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "focused on working with the international community to upgrade the pressure on Iran in a way that makes the Iranian regime know that its nuclear program is unacceptable, that they are going to pay a price that will make them rethink," said Israeli spokesman Mark Regev. Israeli officials say Obama now shares their sense of urgency and will soon propose a meaningful set of restrictions on the Iranian leadership. With European nations and, more importantly, Russia looking poised to go along, "Israel is a spectator, like most other countries in the international community," said Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon. "We trust that Obama and the U.S. will lead." "As long as Obama is engaged in some kind of diplomatic effort, Israel is going to wait and see how it plays out," said Emily Landau, director of the arms control program at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies. "It is in Israel's interest for it to be dealt with diplomatically."