President Obama at a press conference with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, raising concerns about Iran’s nuclear program just days after Obama spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, the first such interaction between U.S. and Iranian heads of state in 30 years.

Netanyahu said Iran’s “conciliatory words” have not been matched by “real action.”

“It is Israel’s firm belief that if Iran continues to advance its nuclear program during negotiations, the sanctions [against Iran] should be strengthened,” he said.

Obama stressed that the U.S. is taking “no options off the table, including military,” but needs “to test diplomacy.” Netanyahu said that if diplomacy is to work, “pressures” such as sanctions and the threat of military action “must be kept in place” and “should not be lessened until there is verifiable success.”