German Chancellor Says February Could Be "Decisive" For Iran Nukes

Ha'aretz reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told Israeli President Shimon Peres that unless there is a diplomatic breakthrough, onerous sanctions will need to be imposed on Iran in February or shortly thereafter.

"The issue of sanctions will be brought to the agenda when France assumes the presidency of the UN Security Council [next month]," Merkel said. "February will be a decisive month."

Germany is Israel's strongest ally in Europe on the issue of Iran nuclear development. (In fact, Germany - for obvious historical reasons - tends not to stray from the Israeli government's position on any issue.)

It is likely that Peres (an uberhawk on Iran) teamed up with Merkel to put pressure on President Obama, who is not interested in using sanctions as a prelude to inevitable war.  The administration continues to work towards devising a means of dealing with Iran that will deter an Iranian bomb without punishing the Iranian people and thereby pushing them into the arms of the Ahmadinejad government.

The good news is that President Obama appears to be immune from pressure from the Israelis, Germans, American neocons or anyone else.  He said from day one that he intends to resolve the Iranian issue either by diplomacy or effective sanctions.  He isn't going to be steamrolled. 

Even President George W. Bush flat-out rejected the Israeli request that he allow Iraqi air space to be crossed by Israeli bombers en route to their would-be targets in Iran.  Obama is likely to be at least as resistant to that approach.