Senator Lieberman to Obama: Detail Steps to Stop Iran

U.S. senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut is calling President Barack Obama to provide more details on how the commander in chief plans to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

"I hope he can find a way to really spell out with just a little more detail" how Obama plans to stop Iran, Lieberman told the Jerusalem Post. "He said he wanted Obama to 'take it beyond that just all options are on the table, including military force' when it comes to US intentions on the subject," the Post reports.

"[T]he more the president can define what it means to support a policy of preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons, the more he will raise the confidence level of the government of Israel that it doesn't have to be forced to take action unilaterally," Lieberman told the Israeli daily.

He described a unilateral Israeli military strike as "not the best way" to deal with the Iranian threat.

Instead, he said during the B'nai Brith conference, if Iran leaves the world no choice between accepting an Iranian bomb or attacking Tehran's nuclear facilities, the US should lead an international consortium in striking Iran.

"It ought to be led by the United States of America, which has the most significant military capabilities to carry this off and can do it in a way that will not have adverse political consequences for anybody, particularly Israel, in the Middle East," he argued.

Lieberman's comments come at a time when America and Israel are not able to agree on a "red line."

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel and the United States were in talks on setting a 'clear red line' for Iran's nuclear program, but the two allies remained at odds on Monday over whether to spell out a clear threshold for military action against Tehran," reports Reuters. 

"The Israeli leader, who has been pressing President Barack Obama for a tougher line against Iran, again signaled that a sharper U.S. ultimatum for Tehran could deter it from developing nuclear weapons and mitigate the need for a military response."