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Vice-President Joe Biden (L) and Paul Ryan, running mate of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, during their television debate.
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WASHINGTON (EJP)---U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden declared that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been his friend for 39 years and that President Barack Obama has met with him for a dozen years.
He was responding to Paul Ryan, running mate of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, who accused Biden and Obama of ignoring Netanyahu and giving Iran the time to forge ahead toward building a nuclear weapon, during a television debate in Danville, Kentucky.
Biden dismissed Ryan’s accusations as "a bunch of stuff."
Speaking from the perspective of the ayatollahs of Iran, Ryan said: "They see President Obama in New York City the same day Bibi Netanyahu is, and instead of meeting with him, goes on a daily talk show,"referring to Obama's speech at the annual U.N. General Assembly last month.
He said that the more dangerous scenario would be "a nuclear-armed Iran which triggers a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. This is the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism. They’ve dedicated themselves to wiping an entire country off the map. They call us the Great Satan, and if they get nuclear weapons, other people in the neighborhood will pursue their nuclear weapons as well."
“They (the Obama administration) say the military option’s on the table, but it’s not being viewed as credible, and the key to do this peacefully is to make sure that we have credibility," Ryan said. "Under a Romney administration, we will have credibility on this issue."
Biden responded by noting the president’s repeated public statements that the U.S. will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran and touting the toughness of international sanctions that the administration has secured against Tehran. "These are the most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions, period," he said.