Speaking in Tokyo, Mr Kerry said the US had an obligation to respond positively to the olive branch extended by Mr Rouhani, the Iranian president, who has embarked on a charm offensive aimed at achieving rapprochement with the West and ending the decade-long stand- off over his country's uranium enrichment programme.
"It would be diplomatic malpractice of the worst order not to examine every possibility of whether or not you can achieve that before you ask people to take military action and do what you have to do to prevent it," he told reporters. "You have to exhaust the remedies before you ratchet up to a next tier of remedies that may have more dramatic consequences."
Mr Kerry words jarred with the belligerent message of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, who gave a series of interviews on US television warning of the dangers of engaging Mr Rouhani. » | Robert Tait, Middle East Correspondent | Thursday, October 03, 2013
