By msnbc.com news services
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are deeply at odds over how fast the clock is ticking toward possible military action against Iran's nuclear program, and their talks on Monday are unlikely to change that.
Even though Obama has offered assurances of stiffened U.S. resolve against Iran before the White House meeting, the two allies are still far apart on explicit nuclear "red lines" that Tehran must not be allowed to cross, and they have yet to agree on a time frame for when military action may be necessary.
Obama will try to persuade Netanyahu to slow quickening pressure among many in his hawkish government to attack Iran's disputed nuclear development sites. Obama is trying to avert an Israeli strike that could come this spring, and which the United States sees as dangerously premature.
Iran on radar as Obama talks to Israel supporters
Their most immediate concern is that Iran be prevented from reaching nuclear weapons capability, not just from developing an actual device, and they worry that time is running out for an effective Israeli attack as Tehran buries its nuclear facilities deeper underground.
Israeli leaders, who see Iran's nuclear advances as a looming existential threat and reserve the right to act alone in self-defense, have made clear they are operating on a far shorter, more urgent timeline than the White House.
Obama wants Israel to hold off on attacking Iran's nuclear sites, insisting there is still time for sanctions and diplomacy to work. But he also vowed in a speech on Sunday to the largest U.S. pro-Israel lobby that he would be ready to act militarily -- with all "elements of American power" -- to prevent the Islamic republic from building an atomic bomb.
"Loose talk of war" only plays into Iran's hands, however, Obama said Sunday.
Must-Read Op-Eds: Mika Brzezinski reads from a Wall Street Journal editorial wondering whether or not President Obama is truly serious about "stopping a nuclear Iran." The panel then discusses Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey's comments about Iran being "rational."
Strained relationship
While Obama and Netanyahu -- who have had a strained relationship -- will share intelligence information on Monday, a source close to the administration said there was little reason to believe they would make significant progress toward bridging key differences on a common threshold for military action.
"They'll be looking for mutual understandings and may find a few, but the biggest problem is they're working on different clocks," the source said.
The president is expected to tell Netanyahu in private at the White House that although the U.S. is committed to Israel's security it does not want to be dragged into another war. Obama is unlikely to spell out U.S. "red lines" that would trigger a military response, despite Israeli pressure to do so.
U.S. officials believe that while Tehran has the capability to build a nuclear weapon, it has not yet decided to do so. They want to give sanctions time to pressure Iran to give up any military nuclear ambitions. Israel says the threat is too great to wait and many officials there are advocating a pre-emptive strike.
Obama did not directly call on Israel to stand down, and made a point of saying Israel should always have the right to defend itself as it sees fit.
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Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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