Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with President Obama next week and Iran will most likely “dominate the conversation” as the New York Times noted. While the President made a strong case for diplomacy in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program during an recent interview with the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, Netanyahu warned against talks.
On Fox News, Greta Van Susteren asked GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich how he’d handle the meeting with the Israeli prime minister. While Gingrich said he would brief Netanyahu on all the “non-military means” he would employ to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, he added that Israel “would receive support from the United States” if it decided to attack Iran. But the former House Speaker didn’t stop there:
GINGRICH: I would also point out that a Gingrich presidency would communicate publicly to the Iranians that if they continue to do what they’re doing, they should expect to get hit, and it will be their fault for having caused it.
Watch it:
The GOP presidential candidates have been steadily trying to outdo one another on who is more bellicose on Iran and Gingrich is no exception. Outside of offering support for an Israeli attack on Iran, Gingrich said in December that he would prefer a “joint operation” with the United States.
While the IAEA and top U.S. officials have expressed serious concerns about possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program — including indications that Iran is on a path to nuclear weapons capability — neither the IAEA nor U.S. intelligence reports have asserted that Iran has restarted its nuclear weapons program.