Give diplomacy a chance.
The White House on Wednesday criticized Iran for an illicit shipment of weapons headed to Gaza, calling it “unacceptable,” but insisted it would press ahead with nuclear talks.
“These illicit actions are unacceptable to the international community,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
Carney, though, said the administration would continue negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, but also standing up to Iran.
“We continue to have enormous issues with Iran, its sponsor of terrorist organizations, its bad behavior in the region that manifests itself in many ways. And we continue to take all the necessary steps to address those challenges,” Carney said. “But it’s entirely appropriate to continue to pursue the possibility of reaching a resolution on the nuclear program.”
The Obama spokesman confirmed to reporters that Israel on Wednesday had intercepted “a suspected shipment of illicit Iranian arms” headed to Gaza.
Carney said that U.S. security officials were working with their Israeli counterparts on the matter. He said the White House had directed the Defense Department to develop plans to act once the U.S. first learned about the covert arms shipment.