How concerned are you, Mr President, about a potential Israeli military strike against an Iranian nuclear facility?
THE PRESIDENT – That would be disastrous. It would be a disaster. I don’t even want to think it possible. And the best way to avoid this disaster scenario is to take measures in order to get Israel to understand that we are determined to ensure its security. And Israel, furthermore, must equally make the necessary effort in order to bring about a fair and lasting peace with their Palestinian neighbours. Q. – Do you think stronger sanctions will actually work? Because the Iranians seem very insistent upon building this nuclear capability. THE PRESIDENT – I believe in the effect of sanctions, because I’ve been very impressed by the courage of the Iranian people. Those young kids, those women who went down into the streets of Tehran and major Iranian cities. What a fantastic example of courage they gave us. We cannot be, we can’t afford to be less courageous than they were. (…) We have always said, and all of us have said that we are prepared to help Iran achieve [civilian nuclear energy]
