(Communicated by the Office of the President)

President Shimon Peres, today (Thursday, 28 February 2013), held a working meeting with US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman, who manages the negotiations with Iran. Sherman, who arrived from the negotiations in Kazakhstan to Israel, briefed President Peres on the developments in the negotiations and reaffirmed the commitment of the United States of America to preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear armed state.

In statements delivered President Peres said, "After your in-depth briefing I remain convinced that President Obama will do all he can to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and that under his leadership the American administration will not cease in their attempts to find a solution to the Iranian threat." Under Secretary Sherman thanked President Peres and said, "America has no better friend than you. I know that President Obama and Secretary Kerry so look forward to coming here and to the region and to talking about all the things we work on together for peace and security."

During the meeting between the two, President Peres raised before Under Secretary Sherman the severity with which Israel views Iran's attempts to acquire nuclear weapons and stressed that a nuclear Iran is an existential threat for peace in the world and not just Israel, "In Iran people are hanged without trial. Iran funds and arms the world's deadliest terror organizations. Instead of caring for the welfare of their people they invest huge resources into enriching uranium and do incredible harm to human rights." President Peres continued and said, "I have total faith in the Obama administration in its commitment and its actions in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and I believe that President Obama stands behind his promise on the Iranian threat."