Israeli President Shimon Peres downplays the cornerstone of US President Barack Obama's Iran policy on the day of his inauguration. In a Tuesday interview with Israel's Army Radio, Peres claimed that Obama's pledge to hold direct talks with Iran would be in vain because the two sides would have "different goals."
"I don't believe they will get what they want by talking to him," said the Israeli President, adding that although America had chosen a different president, he was glad that Israel had not received a "different America."
He called for the international community to close ranks with Israel in its efforts against the Islamic Republic --- which it accuses of developing a military nuclear program.
Iran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), insists its program is intended at the civilian applications of the technology.
"Israel mustn't bear the Iran issue on its shoulders alone….If you go to war alone, you will remain alone," said the 1994 Nobel Peace prizewinner.
His claims come as the dust has not settled from Tel Aviv's three-week offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has left some 1,340 Palestinians dead and thousands of others wounded.
According to Human rights organizations, the humanitarian situation in the impoverished strip is at its worst with over 1.1 million people, about 80 percent of the residents of Gaza, dependent on food aid.
In a recent interview with Japan's Kyodo news agency, Peres urged Obama to shelve his plans to hold direct talks with Tehran until after the presidential elections in Iran -- scheduled for June 12, 2009.
Obama has repeatedly promised "a clean break" with the Bush administration's policy of isolating the Islamic Republic. His election as the next US unconditional talks with the Islamic Republic has raised the prospect of a resumption of ties between Tehran and Washington.
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