Obama, Peres and children
Obama, Peres and childrenReuters

"The greatest danger is a nuclear Iran," and "You have made it clear that your intention is not to contain but to prevent" a nuclear-armed Iran, President Shimon Peres told his visiting counterpart, President Barack Obama, in a joint news conference.

The men held a joint news conference after they met in Jerusalem at the Presidential Residence.

Peres also said that Syrian weapons of mass destruction must not be allowed "to fall into the wrong hands."

Peres repeated his oft-stated message that peace can be achieved between Israel and its Arab enemies.

Obama did not make any meaningful policy-related statements in his reply to Peres.

At the President's Residence, five children sang "Tomorrow" in honor of President Obama, in three languages – Hebrew, English and Arabic. One of them told Obama that he is a resident of the Gaza Belt, and thanked Obama for the protection offered by the Iron Dome system, which is heavily funded by the U.S., against terror missiles.

Obama wrote in the guestbook at President Peres's Residence:

"It is a great honor to reaffirm the extraordinary bonds between our two countries. By every measure, from security to our economy, our cooperation has never been greater and this in part is because of the strong commitment of Prime Minister Netanyahu. May our bonds continue to grow, on behalf of our people and prosperity for all people."