[caption id="attachment_695" align="alignright" width="300"]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu[/caption]
By Olivia Jessup, Contributor
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made waves at the U.N. General Assembly Sept. 27 when he held up a picture of a cartoon-like bomb and drew a red line, calling for world action against Iran's developing nuclear program, according to The Associated Press.
Netanyahu's red line marks the point of successful development of Iranian nuclear technology, right under where Iran would have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb.
Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, noted the Israeli threat when he took the stage to give a speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 26.
"Continued threat by the uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality," Ahmadinejad said in his speech. "A state of mistrust has cast its shadow on the international relations, while there is no trusted or just authority to help resolve world conflicts."
Ahmadinejad made it clear in a CNN interview that he is not afraid to retaliate should Israel attack.
"The response of Iran is quite clear, I don't need to explain that," he said. "Any nation has the right and will indeed defend herself."
The threat of Iranian nuclear empowerment still exists at the root of the conflict. Netanyahu told the U.N. Iran would have enough uranium for a bomb by next spring or summer, roughly 10 months, according to a CBS news report.
Netanyahu has openly said that Iran must be stopped before then. His red line is a part of this.
"I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down," Netanyahu said in a CNN report.
After his demonstration last Thursday, Netanyahu's red line is now literal.
Since Israel's founding in 1948, America has supported Israel with both economic and security assistance, according to the U.S. Department of State.
However, recent data indicates that relations between America and Israel are at an all time low, according to the Journal of Turkish Weekly.
Netanyahu and President Obama have not gotten along well in the past, and the most current events at the U.N. General Assembly have slowly changed their standing with each other.
Both Obama and Netanyahu appear to have come away from the U.N. General Assembly with what they hoped for, according to Reuters.
Obama now has the assurance that Israel will not attack Iran until after the elections, and Netanyahu has a commitment from America that it will do what it takes to prevent Iran from developing nuclear arms.
Still, America's red line is not parallel with Israel's. Both countries are in agreement that Iran should not go nuclear, but they have different perspectives on modes of prevention, according to CNN.
"The Israelis are telling the United States, 'look, the red line is when the Iranians get the technological capability to build a bomb, we then feel we have to attack,'" said CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen. "Previously the United States government has been telling Israel, 'no, the red line should be when they actually get it.' From the Israeli point of view, that's way too late."
America is still holding out for a diplomatic resolution to this conflict.
According to a CNN Facebook survey, 76.77 percent of Americans think the country should respond to Iran with diplomacy and sanctions, 15.77 percent want military force and 7.46 percent say they think the U.S. should do nothing.
