JERUSALEM — Mitt Romney
said Sunday that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capability
should be America’s “highest national security priority,” stressing that
“no option should be excluded” in the effort.
“We have a solemn duty and a moral imperative to deny Iran’s leaders the
means to follow through on their malevolent intentions,” Mr. Romney,
the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told
an audience of about 300, including a large contingent of American
donors who flew here to accompany him. “We must not delude ourselves
into thinking that containment is an option.”
The speech, delivered at dusk overlooking the Old City, was short on
policy prescriptions, as Mr. Romney tried to adhere to an unwritten code
suggesting that candidates not criticize each other on foreign soil.
But there were subtle differences between what he said — and how he said
it — and the positions of his opponent.
While the Obama administration typically talks about stopping Iran from
obtaining a nuclear weapon, Mr. Romney adopted the language of Israel’s
leaders, who say Tehran must be prevented from even having the
capability to develop one.
And while President Obama
and his aides always acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself, they
put an emphasis on sanctions and diplomacy; Dan Senor, Mr. Romney’s
senior foreign policy aide, went further on Sunday, suggesting that Mr. Romney was ready to support a unilateral military strike by Israel.
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