"President-elect Obama spoke to me about his view that Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons is unacceptable," Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu told Reuters in a brief interview.
"I say that what counts is the goal and the result that he envisions, and the way that he achieves that goal is less important," said Netanyahu, who stands an excellent chance of being elected as Israel's next prime minister in the national election February 10, according to polls and pundits.
"I was impressed by his commitment to prevent Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold... I have no doubt that that commitment is genuine and that he will follow through with it."
Netanyahu was responding to concerns raised by Israeli analysts that Obama did not explicitly say
"I say that what counts is the goal and the result that he envisions and the way that he achieves that goal is less important."
in televised remarks on Sunday that he would resort to force against Tehran if it did not bow to U.S. demands over its nuclear program.
Obama spoke in the television interview of a carrot and stick approach to Iran and said the Islamic country would have to choose between doing things "the hard way" or "the easy way."
Some Israeli analysts understood the interview as signaling that Obama would not use force against Iran. Most notable of these was Nachum Barnea, senior political analyst for Yedioth Aharonoth, whose story on Obama's interview was headlined "Not by Force."
Netanyahu's analysis of Obama's intentions seems to be different than the newspaper's.