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Florida: US presidential candidate Barack Obama said that Israel is justified in providing for its security amid the "extraordinary threat" posed to it by Iran.
He spoke after The New York Times quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Israel had carried out a large military exercise this month that appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Democrat Obama, who is running against Republican John McCain in the November election, was asked at a news conference in Jacksonville, Florida whether Israel was right to carry out the exercise.
He said, "Without access to the actual detailed intelligence, I want to be careful about characterising what was done and whether it was appropriate or not."
But he added that the Jewish state was right to be concerned about the anti-Israel comments of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and about Tehran's support for Hezbollah and Hamas.
"And so there is no doubt that Iran poses an extraordinary threat to Israel and Israel is always justified in making decisions that will provide for its security," Obama said.
More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters reportedly took part in the manoeuvres over the eastern Mediterranean and Greece in the first week of June.
The exercise appeared to be an effort to focus on long-range strikes and illustrates the seriousness with which Israel views Iran's nuclear programme.
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