Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday establishing firm "red lines" on Iran's nuclear ambitions could lessen the chances of conflict with the country, rather than escalate them, drawing comparisons to U.S. President John F. Kennedy's actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In contrast, there were no firm red lines in place before former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, an action that led to the first Gulf War, he said on CNN's "State of the Union."
"As Iran gets closer and closer to the completion of its nuclear program, I think it's important to place a red line before them, and that's something that I think we should discuss with the United States," Mr. Netanyahu said.
President Barack Obama has said he wouldn't allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon, but Israeli leaders want the administration to spell out precisely what point of development--such as uranium enrichment levels or missile development--would trigger U.S. military action. Iran denies it is seeking to build nuclear weapons.
During the showdown in 1962 with the Soviet Union, Mr. Kennedy drew a so-called red line by making it clear if Moscow continued to try to send nuclear missile components to Cuba, there would be grave consequences. The Kennedy administration established a naval blockade aimed at intercepting Soviet ships potentially with military hardware on board. The Soviet ships turned back from the blockade, easing tensions and ending the nuclear showdown.
Obama administration officials have said all options, including military action, remain on the table in dealing with Tehran, but there is still time to let work the economic sanctions applied the regime. The president also hasn't given up hope of finding a diplomatic solution to resolving the multi-year dispute with Iran.
"They do not have a nuclear weapon," Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said during an interview on CNN's "State of the Union." "Our shared intelligence assessments is that there is still a considerable time and space before they will have a nuclear weapon should they make the decision to go for that," said Ms. Rice during the CNN interview.
The Israeli leader said he wasn't interested in the U.S. "political calendar" in terms of timing of political action against Iran, but was only concerned with Tehran's "nuclear calendar." Mr. Netanyahu said within six months, Iran could be 90% of the way toward completing enough nuclear enrichment to build a nuclear weapon.
"The Iranian centrifuges that are charging ahead simply do not take time out for the American elections," Mr. Netanyahu said in the interview. "I wish the Iranians would shut down the centrifuges, then we won't have to talk about it. But they don't. And in fact, they do the very opposite."
There has been increasing speculation Israel might launch a military strike unilaterally on Iran in a bid to prevent the country's nuclear program from continuing. Military experts have said Israel doesn't possess traditional weaponry robust enough to permanently disable Iran's nuclear program, but a strike would likely still be able to delay Tehran's program.
Mr. Netanyahu rejected the notion Iran is developing nuclear technology solely to produce nuclear energy, as the country has long claimed.
"It's like Timothy McVeigh, walking into a shop in Oklahoma City and saying, 'I'd like to tend my garden. I'd like to buy some fertilizer.' 'How much do you want?' 'Oh, I don't know, 20,000 pounds.' Come on. We know that they're working toward a weapon," he said, drawing comparisons to Mr. McVeigh's use of a fertilizer bomb to destroy a federal government building in 1995, in an attack that killed 168 people.
He sought to play down the notion there is increasing tension between Washington and Tel Aviv, emphasizing several times during the interview the strong, positive relationship between the two allies.
Ms. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, echoed the sentiment, saying on "Fox News Sunday" the intelligence and security relationship between the two countries has never been stronger.
"We have no daylight between us on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," Ms. Rice said.
Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), the top Republican lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee, repudiated the notion all is well between Israel and the U.S., describing what he referred to a "continuous public dispute with our closest ally in the region."
"Is there anyone who doesn't believe that Iran continues on the path toward a nuclear weapon despite the sanctions, and here we are in an open fight with the prime minister of Israel," said Mr. McCain on CBS's "Face the Nation."
He said the U.S. should quietly provide assurances to Israel that it does have a firm red line that Iran can't cross without triggering a military reaction from America.