Sources are reporting that the president now wants to meet with Iran by September to discuss the matter and will consider tougher sanctions against Iran if it fails to comply. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on a tour of the Middle East this week. (Source)

Gates said, “What is clear is if the engagement process is not successful, the United States is prepared to press for significant additional sanctions that would be non-incremental” and added that “The president is certainly anticipating or hoping for some kind of a response this fall, perhaps by the time of the UN General Assembly (in September).”

From our perspective, Obama seems to be hedging, hoping Iran with comply with a September deadline on its own. Of course, it won’t. Aside from international condemnation, what consequences has Iran faced because of its defiance? Would the rogue state react the same way if George Bush were still in office?

Despite Iran’s nuclear program and the country’s clear intentions to continue developing nuclear capabilities, Obama wants to reduce missile defense spending by $1.4 billion. As the Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano notes, ballistic missiles are the best weapons we have to stop enemy attacks that would have devastating consequences. But opponents of strong missile defense can’t see the forest for the trees. Iran and rogue cousin North Korea may not have the capability to cause untold damage now, but they will.

Faced with short-range weapon and mortar shell attacks, Israel needed an anti-rocket system to neutralize these threats. The Iron Dome is an anti-rocket shield designed to defend Israel from Hamas and Hizbullah rockets and also serves as a major component in a multi-layered missile defense system that includes the Arrow II anti-ballistic missile shield. The Arrow II is designed to counter Iran’s Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of 1,250 miles, far enough to hit Israel.

Sources report that the Iron Dome may be ready to use in actual battle conditions sometime next year.

Israel considers Iran its biggest threat. In May, President Barack Obama met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to talk about problems in the Middle East. While Netanyahu hoped Obama would take a hard-line against Iran, Obama wants to meet with the rogue nation by the end of the year to talk. It’s no secret that Iran has nuclear ambitions, although it claims the program is scientific and peaceful in nature.

This week Obama met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to talk about problems in the Middle East and possible solutions. This was the first formal meeting between the two leaders. By now Netanyahu probably doubts the president is committed to dealing with Iran and using force if necessary. Obama said he will give Iran several months to respond to his overtures, but made clear the timetable for talks is not a hard deadline. He said, “By the end of the year I think we should have some sense as to whether or not the talks are having some benefit.”

As expected, Israel would like the talks to commence as soon as possible. Our ally wants to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, but the rogue state insists its program is peaceful and scientific. Only the most naive and fatally optimistic would believe such a claim.

Iran will remain a sticking point between Obama and Netanyahu, with the former preferring diplomacy and the latter favoring more aggressive action. Based on Obama’s lukewarm support for strong missile defense, we predict Iran will be a point of contention between the U.S. and Israel as long as Obama’s in office.