Zee Media Bureau
Washington: Taking stock of US intelligence reports, President Barack Obama on Saturday said that Iran was "a year or more away" from building nuclear weapon.
It is noteworthy that Israel had earlier said that Iran was just months away from building a bomb and Obama’s assessment puts him at odds with the Israelis.
Obama told agencies that American estimates are "more conservative" than those of the Israelis.
Obama also says the world must "test" whether Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is serious about resolving its nuclear dispute diplomatically. But he says the US won`t take a "bad deal" from Iran.
Israel has dismissed Iran`s outreach to the US Obama says if he were Israel`s leader, he`d "be very wary as well of any kind of talk from the Iranians."
With agency inputs
