Peres: Israel should let US deal with Iran

Israeli President Shimon Peres has downplayed the chances of an Israeli strike against Iran, saying that the US should be the leader in dealing with Iran.

“Iran is a problem for the world. I don’t think Israel has to monopolize it. I don’t think we have to jump ahead and claim to be a leader on that issue,” Peres told in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Thursday.

“The world has to let President Obama find a solution by way of sanctions and diplomacy.” Peres added.

Israel, which is the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, has repeatedly voiced its determination to halt Iran’s nuclear program, even through launching a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Unlike Israel, Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has declared that its nuclear program aims at no military ends.

Furthermore, since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has never invaded another country, while Israel has initiated wars on numerous occasions against, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon among other countries.

In its latest military assault, Tel Aviv pounded the blockaded Gaza Stip for three weeks, killing over 1,300 Palestinians, among them many civilians, and wounding thousands of others.