Obama, Netanyahu give no sign of narrowing gap on Iran

US President Barack Obama appealed to Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to give sanctions time to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, but the Israeli prime minister offered no sign of backing away from possible military action, saying his country must be the "master of its fate."

The two men, who have had a strained relationship, sought to present a united front in the Iranian nuclear standoff as they opened White House talks. But their public statements revealed differences over how to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

In one of the most consequential meetings of US and Israeli leaders in years, Obama and Netanyahu made no mention of lingering disagreements over what Washington fears could be an Israeli rush to attack Iran's nuclear sites in the coming months.

Obama sought to assure Netanyahu that the United States was keeping the military option open as a last resort and always "has Israel's back," but also urged Israeli patience to allow sanctions and diplomacy to work.

Netanyahu, speaking in historical terms about the nature of the Jewish state, focused on what he described as Israel's right to "have the ability to defend itself, by itself." Israel sees Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its existence.

"We do believe there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution to this issue," Obama said, even as he sought to convince Netanyahu of stiffened U.S. resolve against Iran.

Given his chance to speak, Netanyahu said his "supreme responsibility as prime minister of Israel is to ensure that Israel remains the master of its fate."

In cautioning against renewed international diplomatic engagement with Iran, Netanyahu has warned Western powers not to fall into a "trap" of letting Iran buy more time for nuclear advances.

Even though Obama has ratcheted up his tone against Iran in recent days, he and Netanyahu went into the talks divided over how quickly the clock is ticking toward possible military action. The meeting appeared unlikely to change that.

They remain far apart on any explicit nuclear "red lines" that Iran must not be allowed to cross, and they have yet to agree on a time frame when military forces might need to be applied.

There was no immediate sign from Monday's talks that Obama's sharpened rhetoric against Tehran and his calls for restraint by Israel would be enough to delay any Israeli military plans against Iran, which has called for the destruction of the Jewish state.