Diplomacy ‘preferred’ solution to Iran issue: U.S. president

TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (MNA) – U.S. President Barack Obama said that diplomacy and not military intervention remains the “preferred solution” to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. Obama made the remarks in an interview with the NBC broadcast live on Sunday. Asked whether Israel was set to attack Iran, Obama said, “I don’t think that Israel has made a decision on what they need to do.” “We are going to make sure we work in lockstep and work to resolve this, hopefully diplomatically,” he stated. Obama also said, “Any kind of additional military activity inside the (Persian) Gulf is disruptive and has a big effect on us. It could have a big effect on oil prices, we’ve still got troops in Afghanistan, which borders Iran, and so our preferred solution here is diplomatic.” Tehran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful electricity generation and has dismissed allegations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons as baseless. As a signatory to the NPT, Iran has right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.