Top Obama foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough told a Washington security conference Sunday that the White House believes its policy toward Iran is working, characterized Obama’s relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “workman-like” and said Obama’s foreign policy is defined by a clear-eyed pragmatism that is largely nonpartisan and un-ideological.
“We are not asking for more time to let negotiations [with Iran] work because we are betting on negotiations,” McDonough told a conference convened by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Washington think tank. “We are saying something different,” he continued. “We believe the policy we are pursuing is working. And ultimately, that it is going to give us the best opportunity to address this challenge once and for all.”
According to McDonough, the No. 2 official at the National Security Council, Obama’s Iran policy is a “multi-pronged effort that includes diplomacy and various forms of pressure. It leaves all other options on the table as well.”