Metro

Obama: Time ‘not unlimited’ to resolve Iran nukes

With US campaign politics shadowing every word, President Obama warned world leaders Tuesday that time to peacefully curb the Iranian nuclear crisis is running out.

He said there is “still time and space” to resolve the issue through diplomacy in a speech to the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly. But that time is “not unlimited.”

“Make no mistake: A nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained. It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations and the unraveling of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty,” he said.

Obama says 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 says the Iranian government has been propping up the dictatorship in Syria and supporting terrorist groups abroad.

The president says, “the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

This is Obama’s final international address before the November elections.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has accused Obama of not being tough enough on Iran and of turning his back on Israel and other allies in the Middle East. Romney also has said he doesn’t have much faith in peace prospects between Israelis and Palestinians.

Obama also told world leaders Tuesday that attacks on US citizens in Libya “were attacks on America,” and he called on them to join in confronting the root causes of the rage across the Muslim world.

“I do believe that it is the obligation of all leaders, in all countries, to speak out forcefully against violence and extremism,” Obama said.

Obama also condemned the anti-Muslim video that helped spark the recent attacks, calling it “cruel and disgusting.” But he strongly defended the US Constitution’s protection of the freedom of expression, “even views that we profoundly disagree with.”

The president spoke in the aftermath of violent protests in the Middle East and North Africa connected to the release of an anti-Muslim video produced in the United States.

Four Americans were killed in Libya, including US Ambassador Chris Stevens, along with more than 50 others in the violence.

“Today, we must declare that our future will be determined by people like Chris Stevens and not by his killers. Today, we must declare that this violence and intolerance has no place among our United nations,” he said.

Unlike Romney, Obama has not specifically called the attacks in Libya and other US missions terrorism.

Obama said that “at a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a button,” the notion that governments can control the flow of information is obsolete.

“There is no speech that justifies mindless violence,” such as the attack that left the four Americans dead in Libya, Obama said.

“The strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech — the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.”

Meanwhile, Iran has test-fired four missiles designed to hit warships during a drill near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian military commander said.

The missiles were fired simultaneously and hit a “big target” the size of a warship, sinking it within 50 seconds, Gen. Ali Fadavi of the powerful Revolutionary Guard was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.

The Fars report late Monday was the first indication of an Iranian military exercise taking place simultaneously and close to US-led joint naval maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, including mine-sweeping drills, which got under way last week.

The US Navy claims the maneuvers are not directly aimed at Iran, but the West and its regional allies have made clear they would react against attempts by Tehran to carry out threats to try to close critical Gulf oil shipping lanes in retaliation for tighter sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

Fadavi did not elaborate on the ongoing Iranian exercise or the type of missiles fired but said the Guard is planning a “massive naval maneuver in the near future” in the strait.

Iran regularly holds maneuvers to upgrade its military readiness as well as test its equipment.

The latest drill comes amid tension over Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s suggestion that it might unilaterally strike Iranian nuclear facilities to scuttle what the US and its allies believe are efforts to build an atomic bomb.

Tehran denies it is pursuing such weapons and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

On Sunday, a senior Guard commander warned that Iran would target US bases in the region in the event of war with Israel. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the Guard’s aerospace division, claimed no Israeli attack can happen without the support of its most important ally, the United States, making all US military bases a legitimate target.

Iran has in the past also warned that oil shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the route for a fifth of the world’s oil, will be in jeopardy if a war breaks out.

For its part, Israel believes that any attack on Iran would likely unleash retaliation in the form of Iranian missiles as well as rocket attacks by Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas on its northern and southern borders.