Israeli officials were taken aback on Monday when the Obama Administration, which had previously vowed to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, insisted that it would set no deadlines for Iranian compliance with international demands.
"We're not setting deadlines," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters after being asked how Washington would respond to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that the West must do more to halt Iran's defiant nuclear program.
Clinton's spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, later added, "...it is not useful...to be setting deadlines one way or the other, red lines."
"Without a firm and clear red line, Iran won't stop its race for a nuclear weapon," an unnamed Israeli government official told The Times of Israel. "Words like these don't only not deter Iran, they calm it."
The official's remarks echoed Netanyahu's warning earlier this week that the lack of international determination was only encouraging Iran to continue its quest for nuclear arms.
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