(Reuters) - The man many tip to be Israel's next leader said on Monday he saw Barack Obama as serious about denying Iran nuclear arms, even though the U.S. president-elect made no mention of a military option in a weekend interview.
Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-wing party leads in polls before a Feb. 10 election, was responding to concerns raised by Israeli analysts that Obama did not explicitly say in televised remarks on Sunday that he could resort to force against Tehran if it did not bow to U.S. demands over its nuclear programme.
"President-elect Obama spoke to me about his view that Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons is unacceptable," Netanyahu told Reuters in a brief interview.
"I say that what counts is the goal and the result that he envisions and the way that he achieves that goal is less important," said Netanyahu, a former prime minister.
"I was impressed by his commitment to prevent Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold...I have no doubt that that commitment is genuine and that he will follow through with it."
