Biden on Iran threat: Obama not bluffing

WASHINGTON -- Seeking to reassure anxious Israelis and their American supporters, Vice President Joe Biden vowed yesterday that the United States won't back down from its pledge to use military action to thwart Iran's nuclear program should all other options fail.

"President Barack Obama is not bluffing," he said.

In a prelude to Obama's upcoming trip to Israel, his first as president, Biden told a powerful pro-Israel lobby the United States doesn't want a war with Iran, but the window for diplomacy is closing. Prevention, not containment, is the only outcome the United States will accept, he said.

But in a sign of U.S. reluctance to embroil itself in another Mideast military effort, Biden cautioned more than 13,000 Israel supporters at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference that, if Israel or the United States acts too hastily without exhausting every other reasonable option, they could risk losing the backing of the international community.

"That matters, because God forbid we have to act, it's important that the rest of the world is with us," Biden said to muted applause.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to the conference by video link from Jerusalem, pushed back against such reluctance, reflecting the tension still present between the United States and its closest Mideast ally as they seek a united front to stave off Iran's nuclear program.

"From the bottom of my heart and from the clarity of my brain, words alone will not stop Iran. Sanctions alone will not stop Iran," Netanyahu said.

Conference participants were struck by Netanyahu's tough talk.

"I'm afraid there is going to be something drastic that could happen," said Barbara Rogan, a retired librarian from Westport, Conn. -- AP