A member of Israel's Knesset says his country is in a life or death struggle as Iran continues to accelerate its development of nuclear bombs. The Iranians are threatening to drag the United States into any confrontation with the Jewish state.
Recently Iranian state television reported that a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that Iran would target U.S. bases in the region in the event of war with Israel, raising the prospect of a broader conflict that would force other countries to get involved.
The comments came amid tension over Iran's nuclear program and Israel's suggestion that it might unilaterally strike Iranian nuclear facilities to scuttle what the United States and its allies believe are efforts to build a bomb.
Danny Danon is deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset and a member of the ruling Likud Party. He comments on the situation.
"We have the military capability to deal with this threat by ourselves, but I think that should not be the case," he contends. "It should not be the war of Jews against Iran. It should be the war of the global Western society that fights against the threat. And, unfortunately, I don't see it happening in the near future. We see that the leadership in the United States is not willing to take a leadership role."
Danon says if President Obama does not want to help, there is no other alternative -- but that Israel will do what it must do to survive.
"If we have to choose between allowing Iran to build a bomb or to bomb Iran, I think we have no other option but to do whatever is necessary to not allow Iran to become nuclear -- because history has told us we cannot ignore a leader who is speaking against the Jewish people," he insists.
Danon is the author of Israel: The Will to Prevail, which is extremely critical of President Obama.
Meanwhile, a conservative activist and former presidential candidate finds it funny that President Obama would tell the United Nations General Assembly that the time for diplomacy with Iran is "not unlimited." (Listen to audio report)
President Barack Obama recently told the General Assembly that time after time, Iran has failed to demonstrate that its nuclear program is peaceful and has failed to meet its obligations to the United Nations. He also said the Iranian government has been propping up the dictatorship in Syria and supporting terrorist groups abroad.
"America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so," the president stated. "But that time is not unlimited. That's why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable. And that's why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
But Gary Bauer of American Values says the president's comments are laughable.
"The Iranians certainly know that those are empty words, because they've seen how the president has with the waivers undercut the sanctions that were passed by overwhelming majorities by the United States Congress," he notes.
Bauer adds, though, that it is not funny that the United States is in full retreat everywhere in the Middle East.